Kung Hey Fat Choi!

What a glorious day. The sun is shining, I’ve just returned from two great runs, a coffee chat and a big brunch. Now I just have to take the dog for a walk and Elle to swimming lessons and the day will be perfect.
It is days like this where I truly miss living in British Columbia because every Sunday is like today or at least if it is raining you can still go out for your run without bundling up and attempting to cope with -30 plus wind chill. I hope one day I stop complaining about the East Coast cold, but alas, not today.
Before I get too far: Happy Chinese New Year/Kung Hey Fat Choi everyone. Belle deserves a few extra ear scratches today to celebrate the official start to the year of the dog. As far as I’m concerned each year is a year of the dog around this house but I can’t fault her for that.
Today was a great day for running. Ricky stayed over last night with Lisa and Elle in Bouctouche and we got up and ran 8.5K to the RR. I specifically told him that we were going to start out slowly. By Adams Street, I yelled up to him, “Hey when I said we were going to start slowly, I meant slowly for us not, Meb or Deena Kastor.” Rick is famous for picking up the pace quickly, so I made sure to hold him back in the early going. We made it to the RR in 39:22 with splits of: 4:43, 4:42, 4:37, 4:35, 4:41, 4:42, 4:35, 4:31, 2:12.
Once we arrived we immediately turned around and ran another 3K with the group. It was a great pace, finishing in 17:05. According to the Garmin, my splits were: 5:33, 5:34, 5:54. Think about it, four weeks ago, the group did 3.3K in 25:29. If someone tries to argue that there hasn’t been a massive improvement from everybody, I may just laugh at them. Ok, I probably wouldn’t do that. But any impartial analysis of the split times since we started shows that each person has made considerable progress. And their lowly instructor has never felt better.
That said I fiddled with something inside my Garmin and now it says my max HR is 30 beats lower than it should be, so our nice and easy run today hit 84 per cent of my max HR and the run with Rick was 100 per cent of my max HR. Something is definitely screwy. I know I was playing in an area I shouldn’t be last night but I thought I deleted all of my changes. Oops.

Super Saturday

I'm not referring to any special basketball tournaments or a series of crucial football games, but Saturday was a super day. And I don't use super, superfluously. Ok, there I did. But it is my blog after all. I digress.
Derrick was a whiz with the shoe lecture. I'm sure everyone learned at least one thing that they didn't already know, I sure did. I'm more and more convinced that racing flats and I are never going to be great friends, that said, wow are they light. For me going from my Asics, which I think is pretty light, would be like holding Belle in the air without any of her four, furry Golden Retriever paws touching the ground and then picking up Toulouse, our lanky, white cat. I can only imagine that racing in those would be somewhat akin to running in slippers, well minus the fuzzy bunny ears.
After the shoe chat, we laced up the runners that were already on our feet and not on display and went out for our first 8K run. It is striking how quick the pace is picking up. I ran with every pack throughout the morning and I finished in 47:25. Our average split was 5:55, which would put everyone right around a one-hour 10K. A month ago, I'm sure most people would admit that they weren't at that speed. It is great to see such huge strides and we still have six weeks until race day.
Unfortunately, one of our runners had a bit of a spill out on the route, which only aggravated another injury. She is, however, probably the toughest runner out there, so I don't think she is worried that much. And I must say the best part of the day was to see the two women who brought their significant others to the clinic both ended up looking much better after the run than their partners. If I were them I'd be rubbing that in, then again, they are much nicer than I am. Gary came out with us; he was my "buddy" for Bring-a-buddy day. He ended up running with the lead pack the entire time. Perhaps, we may have a new RR recruit.
Anyway, here is today's route. We started at the RR, up York, left on Charlotte, out to Waterloo Row, back along Lansdowne, back down Charlotte and finished with our regular loop by the YMCA and we stopped by the church on George Street. That is 8K.

Fredericton Running Room -- 8K

Hill-o-phobia

Update: For some reason the Runner's World links below are broken. I am in the process of fixing them. If you click and it doesn't take you anywhere and you are super curious, go to Runner's World, click on training and scroll through the different articles, they will flag the hill training stories. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Although hills were much more common thus less scary when I lived in British Columbia, there is always a bit of trepidation when it comes to running hills. Our clinic program (well, once it is adjusted for our missing week) is calling for hills on Wednesday, so I thought I'd post some interesting articles that deal with hill training. The wonderful part about running is the experts can never agree. The only question that elucidates a broader variety of answers to "How do you do hills properly" is "Is butter or margarine better?"

This

is a good article from Coolrunning.com on hill running. It is short, roughly 600 words or so and gives a fairly standard account on why and how to do hill runs.

Here

is another solid article posted on the Runner's World Web site inside its training section. It is two pages long but it is pretty basic. It covers form and the reasons behind hill training.

Another

top-notch article from Runner's World. In this piece, it highlights four different hill workouts and illustrates the benefits to each. It's a short story.

Finally, this

is the last Runner's World article that I will link to today. All four articles here cover similar territory. Each one adds a bit more to why it is necessary to run hills and different workouts that are possible.

Saturday preview

I'm sure this will not be Friday's final post on the blog. But just in case it is, I just wanted to remind any of my Fredericton 10K clinic friends that tomorrow is our Bring-a-Buddy event. If you are struggling on who to bring and whether to choose your spouse, roommate, bus driver or Ken the water guy that you told your goals to on Monday, fear not, they can all come. And they don't have to run the 8K with us if they don't want, obviously you still want them to be your buddy after tomorrow.
Tell them, Derrick MacLeod will be giving an expert lecture -- I hope I'm not overhyping dear Derrick -- on 10K shoe selection. You may be surprised how many people are not in the right shoe and this session may show that you could use a new pair of kicks.

Earlier this week I asked those in the running group to think of some goals after our chat, write them down, stuff them in an envelope and wait for the clinic to end. At that point I thought we could assess the goals to see how far long everyone came.
Anyway, I decided to post my goals instead of putting them in the envelope as an example.
Five Golden Goals
Long-term dream goal: Run the Boston Marathon
Dream goal for season: Run sub-38 10K, run sub-1:25:00 half
Realistic goal for season: Run sub-40 10K, run sub-1:30:00 half
Self-acceptance goal: Run throughout the year, injury free
Daily goal: Get out and have fun

Week III Recap

For those who didn't make the week three session or just wanted to remember what was discussed.

Running Room – Week Three
Developing your training program
Everyone is unique, programs should reflect that diversity
Develop ultimate goal and short-term goals
Follow a program to avoid injury

Build a house
Base before speed
Build a strong base
- one-year of running
- two months of aerobic running
- four to six weeks of hills

Hard-easy principle
Watch out for injuries; listen to body
10 per cent rule
Follow long/hard run with easy/short run
Add cross-training when possible

Design your own training program
Factors:
How much time can you commit
Available facilities
Present level of fitness
Mental demands

How to design your sked:
Pick a distance
How many workouts
Select specific days for a run
Determine total mileage (10 per cent rule)
Determine how long will run (easy/hard)

How long to run
How much free time do you have and how much time can you commit
Mentally fit
Fit and injury free?

Goals
Having goals is key
Goals can change as needed
Pick short-term and long-term goals

Five Golden Goals
Long-term dream goal
Dream goal for season
Realistic goal for season
Self-acceptance goal
Daily goal

Goals can be weight, speed, distance, races, events, running with friends

SMART Goals
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time

Record your goals
Set up a running log or a computerized running diary
Include distance, time, how well you were feeling, stretching, etc.

Modify your goals

Tell people your goals

Should I stay or should I go?

Should I run? Should I stay at home? I really should run. But it is getting late and I haven't really eaten that much tonight. That was my dilemma last night. I filed my last story on the never-ending saga of NB Power's rate hike around 8:30. I was mentally exhausted and thought I was too tired to run. At one point I had told myself to forget about running. Then the battle of my inner angel and demon broke out and the running angel won the day. In an effort to assuage the little anti-running devil, I decided to take Belle out for one loop of the neighbourhood. And once I dropped her off, I would pick up the pace, essentially a little tempo run.

I started easy running with Belle with splits of: 5:14, 5:15 and 4:46. I put her inside and picked up the pace in the final four K: 4:11, 4:17 , 4:09 and 4:14. My max HR made it up to 192 with my average HR at 176. Belle is a wonderful 5:15 pace dog. I should make sure to bring her out more often when I want to keep the pace down. However, she keeps walking and then sprinting. I can't keep an even pace with her, hopefully, she can learn to run a bit more consistently. But then again, she is awfully cute when she runs with the leash in her mouth.

Watch out for hills

I ran the tentative course for the March 11 race yesterday. Interestingly if you start inside the experimental farm by a green Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture sign and run out toward the back of the farm, turn right, run by the NB Liquor store, turn right along Wilsey Road, turn right into the trail, pop out on the Lincoln Road, turn right on Draco Road, right on some little road that heads back into the farm and stop at the same green sign, my GPS says 4.9K. However, if you do the exact same route but instead of turning right into the trail and turn right on Lincoln Road, the course is 5.1K. That will make for some interesting choices. I will post my GPS map when my laptop returns from Bathurst.
Initial thoughts on the course, it will not be a PB race. It is not the hilliest course I have ever run on, far from it, but there are enough rolling hills that it will be a challenging course. I don't have my splits with me right now but I did the two routes in about 44 minutes and change. I banged out one sub-4:10K splits if I remember correctly during the first half of the course, where it is flat or downhill, but the end is a killer.
My splits for the fun, first route were: 4:13, 4:07, 4:33, 4:25 and 4:22. My splits for the not-so-fun second route were: 4:34, 4:20, 4:31, 4:38 and 4:56.

This is the Google Earth map of the course option where we would cut through the trail and avoid the Lincoln Road for as long as possible.

And this is the version where the race would proceed down Wilsey Road to Lincoln Road. Not much difference, 200 metres obviously, but it means more running beside traffic.

Um, watch out for ice

Now I remember why I never run on sidewalks. The run was not even even two minutes old when I was jogging down the sidewalk on York Street and was just turning left onto Charlotte Street. And then it happened. I'm not sure if I was landing with my right foot or my left, all I remember is one moment I had a nice stride happening and the next moment I was laying flat out on my stomach with my arms underneath me. I did everything necessary to avoid any Monday morning pain, however, that doesn't protect me from a damaged ego. I think that was the first time I was running ahead of the pack and I wiped out. I'm sure that was very reassuring.
We bolted through 3K in 18:12 and retreated to Reid's for a coffee. Coffee was great to soathe a sore ego.

Fredericton Running Room -- 3K Charlotte-University

Soaring Saturday

Saturday was a great day. It started with an amazing run and it finished with Elle's first birthday. It may shock some to hear this, but the birthday party was by far the more tiring of the events. The cliche "like herding cats" never really made sense to me until I tried to get two one-year-olds, a two-year-old and a four-year-old into one photograph, tried to feed them chocolate cake and entertain them with toys. Anyway, this is a running blog, I should be writing about running, but I just want to point out that for me the whole concept of multi-tasking has transformed from a new-age technophile business catch-phrase to my life.
Back to the run. We had a good talk about goal setting and designing your own program. Unfortunately about 12 hours after the session, I read a fantastic article in this month's Runner's World that outlined everything I was talking about.
We did a 6K run on Saturday in an amazing 34:16. Everyone is making giant strides, which is perfect timing because the mileage starts to ramp up now.
We did the same route as last Saturday, which was made necessary because I couldn't accurately map last week's run.

Fredericton Running Room -- 6K Loop

Big non-running related news

My companion blog has just broken big news:

Elle and Belle's Adventures

So, like, where's the snow?

I admit, I don't like snow, I'd rather bucket loads of rain for months on end. But, what I would prefer even more than West Coast weather is a consistent weather pattern. After the temperature dipped to inhumane levels earlier this week, all of a sudden there is no more snow, zero ice and, well the cold rivals a Siberian gulag. Can someone not just move Fredericton to Vancouver Island?
After a week with soaring highs (Elle's first birthday) and work-related lows (silly committee hearings), it felt great to lace up the 2100s, pull up the medium-weight running tights, zip up my winter jacket and pull down the balaclava. Seeing as my Monday 9K went swimmingly, I thought I'd try the same route again, this time the run was infinitely easier. Tonight there was no snow, there was no ice and there was lots of room for improvement. With the weather conditions so wildly different it is silly to compare the two runs other than to say that I felt better tonight. Although it is, um, silly to compare the runs, I just want to point out that obliterated my earlier performance by about four minutes. I concluded the 9K tonight in 41:48, with splits: 4:56, 4:36, 4:30, 4:40, 4:39, 4:37, 4:45, 4:38 and 4:21.
My legs are a bit stiff right now, I've tried to stretch them out. There must be a simpler way to stretch my legs. I have never, ever enjoyed stretching. And now, even armed with the information on how stretching can prevent re-injuring my hamstring, stretching is like flossing, important but tedious. (I think it is important to point out now, it seems my wife has programmed the VCR in Spanish. It is really odd, but right now I am "Grabar" the O.C.)
I'm looking forward to a nice off day tomorrow so I can get ready for a busy weekend.

Beating the cold

I blame Gary for my evening run. He is goading me into running the Ottawa half-marathon on May 28 and I may be taking the bait. I have scoured the Internet looking for a half-marathon training program that will allow me to ease into a schedule that will get me ready for running 21.1K in 18 weeks but not re-injure my hamstring. This is actually great timing as the weekend RR clinic session is on goal-setting and program building. I promised Gary that I would think about it and I would try and get myself into a position where if I decide to go I've been logging enough kilometres to not embarrass myself in the nation's capital.
After I put Elle to bed tonight I suited up in my warmest running gear. We're talking long-sleeved shirt, thick tights and balaclava; just read the suggested attire for bone-chilling cold nights and that was me. It was freezing.
Not only was my breath visible, the footing was poor, prompting me to take it easy. To top it off, I was also getting pounded by gusting wind, it seemed, around every corner. I went out to Case Road and did two laps of the hill. I had to make sure I didn't slip on the black ice as I gallivanted down the decline.
Overall, I'm happy with the run, my splits: 5:07, 4:57, 5:20, 5:08, 4:57, 5:08, 5:16, 5:07 and 4:38. According to my Garmin my average HR was 175 and I cannot imagine it was that high. I was comfortable the entire time. But if that is what the machine says ... Now I'm eager to see how my legs feel tomorrow morning.

Lincoln Heights/Roadx2 Case

Week Two Recap

When I was in university I was always a big fan of instructors who posted their lecture notes on the Internet. The RR 10K Clinic is not quite as formal, but I thought when I had the notes in an electronic form I could post them on my blog for those who peruse the site. These are just rough notes that I used to guide my thoughts.

Week II
- Introduction
- Ask about weekly runs? Any stiffness?
How to dress for winter
Key: Layer do not bundle
Your lungs will not freeze, even though you may!

Three layers
- Base
- Thermal (or insulating)
- Shell
Base
Critical. It is all about the wicking.
Keep warm and dry. Think Coolmax, polypropylene, etc
Cotton is out because it holds moisture
Remember sweat freezes
Thermal
Optional – mainly for cold days.
Polar fleece.
It continues moisture transfer process. Traps body heat.
Shell
Waterproof/wind resistant jacket
Should prevent moisture from getting to you.

Examples:
Nice fall/early winter day
Base: short-sleeve technical shirt, light-weight tights
Shell: wind/waterproof jacket or vest
Cold winter day
Base: Long-sleeve technical shirt, medium-weight tights.
Shell: water/windproof jacket
Really, bone-chilling cold winter day
Base: Long-sleeve technical shirt, long underwear
Thermal: Fleece/technical vest/shirt, medium/heavy-weight tights
Shell: wind/waterproof jacket, wind pants

Other items:
Gloves vs. mittens
-Mittens warmer: fingers together gives greater body heat.
Hats/Toques/Balaclava
-Major (50 per cent) heat loss from head
Wind briefs
Winter Running Tips
Don't be a hero: -30 is cold enough to find a treadmill
Do not expose skin (remember to pull tights over socks)
Apply Body Glide to any exposed skin
Chapstick
Adjust intensity of workout
Shorten stride to improve footing. Stay loose.
Run a loop
Reflective gear
Speedwork indoors
Stead pace – no quick accelerations or stops
Drink – keep water bottle under jacket
Get out of wet cloths quickly
-drop body heat and could trigger hypothermia
Second Cup Clause: Drink warm coffee/tea/anything to warm up core after the run

The definition of insanity

Somebody should contact Dictionary.com to update their definition of insanity to include the picture of Haile Gebrselassie. He ran his half-marathon in 58 minutes, 55 seconds. That is humbling. Here I thought setting a sub-1:20:00 goal for me was a long shot, now thinking to have a crack at Geb I need to nail a sub-hour half-marathon. The chances of that happening? Well, I haven't stopped laughing.


UNION-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICES
January 16, 2006

Haile Gebrselassie shattered the world half marathon record by 21 seconds yesterday while running the last half of the Rock 'N' Roll Arizona marathon.

He also broke the 20-kilometer world mark en route. It marked the 19th and 20th times the diminutive Ethiopian has broken world records in his career.

"This one is so fantastic because this is my first one in America," he said. "It's a little special to me. It's really, really wonderful."

His half marathon time of 58 minutes, 55 seconds on a clear, crisp morning through the streets of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe broke the mark of 59:16 set by 18-year-old Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, last Sept. 11.

Gebrselassie's 20-kilometer time, also officially clocked, was 55:48, 30 seconds under the 1998 mark set by longtime rival Paul Tergat of Kenya.

What a cruel winter joke

Throughout my Sunday morning run I was absolutely gushing about how great the winter was this year in Fredericton. I was drawing comparisons to growing up in Duncan and I cannot count how many times I mentioned that flowers were already blooming at my mother's place. The snow had melted away and the radio was telling me that the temperature was seven degrees. Just to be clear that was seven degrees above zero. And then Mother Nature's cruel sense of humour kicked in. The freezing rain started to pelt down in the mid afternoon and this morning I awoke with the mercury plummeting to -12. To add insult to injury, everywhere I go, I'm slipping on the blanket of ice that has covered the city. Without belabouring the point, suffice to say, I hate winter.
That aside, we had a great Sunday morning run with the Running Room. We did an easy 3K out and back. It was our first run with our mascot, Indy (spelling?), I'm sure Belle will not be impressed to hear that I'm hanging out with another dog on Sunday mornings. After the run, we went to Reid's Newstand (please no one show this blog to Judy from Second Cup) for a coffee and conversation. It was a great morning.


RR -- 3K Out and Back

Getting your head straight

Here is an interesting article I picked up off http://www.runnersworld.com. It outlines four mental maladies that all runners face. The problems range from having a tough time balancing work life and running as well as how religiously to stick to your running schedule. I thought this article is timely considering next week we will be discussing training programs and goal setting.
The final remedy talks about listening to your body and not pushing yourself when you could really use a rest day. Although I knew that before, it is a bit more apropos right now.

Change Your Mind
Runners perform best when their whole body--head to toe--is working in sync. Here's how to get over the four most common mental roadblocks runners face
by: Katrin McDonald Neitz

Mental Hurdle: You start off your training program with boundless energy, but within a few weeks just lacing up your shoes feels like a chore.

Clear It: Throwing all your energy into the beginning of a training plan is like starting a race at a full sprint. You're not going to have enough juice to finish strong--or finish at all. "Initial excitement is good," says New York sports psychologist and runner Robert Udewitz, Ph.D., "but you need to harness those feelings and divide them up throughout your training." If you're on a 16-week marathon plan, for instance, four months is a long time to wait for a finish-line reward. Schedule a half-marathon midway through your training to help you stay focused and motivated. Also, there's no shame in self-bribery. Promise yourself a massage after your long run. Download new songs into your iPod to help you through a track workout.

Mental Hurdle: You get so stressed out with performance anxiety that you aren't able to relax and enjoy the race experience.

Clear It: "Runners who feel this way are usually caught up in time goals," says Kate Hays, Ph.D., a sports psychologist who leads the "Psyching Team" at the Toronto Marathon. "Don't lose sight of all the other reasons you run--health, sense of accomplishment, connection to others." To ease race-day pressure, Hays recommends setting three levels of goals: your ideal scenario, results that would make you happy, and an outcome that you could live with. And keep your ideal to yourself, so you don't face additional pressure from well-meaning family and friends.

Mental Hurdle: You struggle to balance running, work, and family.

Clear It: You might have been able to devote 15 hours a week to running--when you didn't have three kids and a senior management position. Setting goals that don't reflect your current lifestyle, says Hays, sets you up for disappointment. There's no need to give up running. But switching to a three-day-a-week marathon-training plan, or temporarily focusing on shorter distance races, could make you feel more successful in all areas of your life. Also consider ways in which running can bring you closer to your family. "Some runners isolate themselves and push away others when they are training," says Udewitz. "Make your training more of a team effort by getting your family involved." For instance, ask your spouse to bike alongside you during a long run, or your kids to make you signs for race day, and then treat them to dinner at their favorite restaurant or a movie of their choice. And make sure you're their top cheerleader at their next event.

Mental Hurdle: You're locked into a training plan, no matter what.

Clear It: Runners are notoriously inflexible--and not just in their hamstrings. "Part of the appeal of running is that it's an element of our lives we can control," says Hays. "If other areas of our lives are chaotic, a regimented routine can be comforting." This is fine, but many runners obey their plans over their own bodies, putting them at risk of injury. To loosen this mindset, Hays recommends visualizing a more flexible schedule. Imagine what it would be like skipping a run to rest an achy muscle. Then picture yourself running stronger the next day because you took time off. Or create an internal self-coach. Runners tend to be harder on themselves than a coach would be. A coach doesn't push you when your body needs a break or recommend completely unrealistic goals. "Ask yourself if a coach would approve of what you're doing," says Udewitz. "Or if you were coaching another runner, what would you advise him in this situation?"

Saturday morning shuffle

When the calendar is stubbornly stuck in the middle of January there are few days that are more perfect to run in than today. The mercury was stuck around five degrees, with almost no wind, soup-like fog and decent footing. The clinic discussion was on cold weather running and winter gear. We got that out of the way in about 30 minutes, which went by rather quickly considering I've never been in retail and I felt during the clothing chat that I was hawking RR apparel. But I think everything went well. When I was reading up on all the technical aspects of cold weather running gear, I finally started to realize why I'm so darn hot even on my long runs. But I digress.
Anyway, the run was fabulous. Aside from my Garmin malfunction. I was positive I had GPS signal when we left Kings Place but somewhere around Smythe and Charlotte I realized I had zilch. So it took until the YMCA building until I was able to re-acquire a satellite connection, meanwhile, I was slipping and sliding across the road because I was more focused on my Garmin then my footing. So I have three-quarters of the map posted below.
We were doing 10:1s today and I have to admit that they are enjoyable. Not sure I could incorporate them into my long runs (something about old dogs and new tricks) but they are wonderful interruptions. I ran with a few different groups throughout the run. Although halfway through the fog became so thick that it was impossible to see where the other pace groups were so I ended up sticking with two new members.
I must say one of my favourite moments of the morning was the extra large dark roast at Second Cup with the group. Rarely does coffee taste that good than immediately after a run and over some good conversation.
On a side note, my left hamstring feels good. Even better Dennis said on Friday that it appears to be healing well and I'm down to one session from three next week.


RR Week 2 -- partial

Looping around Lincoln

The Lincoln Loop will one day kill me due to extreme boredom, however, during the winter it will definitely keep me running. I'm posting the Thursday night loop for all those other Lincoln Heights runners looking for a 6K loop to follow. The funniest part about the link below is if you go to Motionbased.com and click on the map analyzer and press play you can actually see me put Belle inside. Well you can see a little red ball stop along the route, but if you know my route that night, you know that is when I ditched the dog. Wow I just re-read that sentence and I come across as a major gadget geek. Right now, sad as it is, the little things seem to amuse me.



Lincoln Heights --6K loop

Thursday night session

Tonight was another milestone in my long road to recovery. I did an evening run, in itself not a big deal. But it is the first time I've went out for a night jog since the ill-fated run in November that reinjured my knee. Anyway I went out tonight for 6K. The first 2.7K or so was with Belle and we took it easy. The remaining 3.3K was solo and I opened it up a bit.
I finished in 29:50. My average HR was 169 and split was 4:58. My splits were: 5:11, 5:21, 5:19 (stopped to take Belle into the house), 4:50, 4:32 and 4:27.
Belle runs like I race; bolts out like her fur is on fire and then is dragging herself across the finish line. It would be great if she could start running with me regularly. By running tonight, will get three runs in this week. Not a lot of mileage -- roughly 15K -- but it's real running. And that is huge for me.

Jeff Galloway's Training and Racing Tips

This was taken from Coolrunning.com. All kudos to them, but there is some very good information.

 

From Jeff Galloway

1. Get a realistic goal time. Run a 5K race, every 4-6 weeks, and use a good prediction table. An example of this is found here http://www.jeffgalloway.com/resources/index.html This time will allow you to predict your finish time, under ideal conditions, if you do the training necessary. Those who have run a marathon before can add 15 minutes to correct for less than perfect weather conditions, and another 15-20 minutes if your longest run was 20 miles or less. First-time marathoners should run the first 13 miles at a pace that is 2 min/mi slower than the predicted ideal pace—then speed up as desired.

2. Run your long runs at least 2 min/mi slower than the time predicted by the 5K. When the temperature rises above 65 degrees, add an additional 30 seconds/mile, and above 75 degrees, 60 seconds/mi and above 80 degrees, add 2 min/mi .

3. Put walk breaks into your long runs for dramatically faster recovery. Start the one min walks, from the first few minutes. If your goal marathon time is 6 hours, run 1 min/walk 1 min. Other goals: 5:30 (2-1), 5 hours (3 min run/1 min walk), 4:30 (4 min run/1 min walk), 4:00 (5-1), 3:30 (6-1),
3:15 (7-1). If the weather is hot and/or you're feeling extra tired, walk more often.

4. Drink a few sips of water every mile unless you hear water "sloshing" in your stomach, during training runs and the marathon itself. The various marathon organizations are recommending that the consumption of fluid be between 14 and 27 oz. per hour. If you are running at the rate of 5 miles an hour, for example, you would consume between 3 oz and about 5 oz a mile. A "sip" is about an ounce. A standard glass holds 8 oz—so you will be drinking less than a glass every mile. Taking salt with your water during the second half of a long run or the marathon is particularly helpful for those who sweat profusely and/or experience leg cramps (which are also lessened by more frequent walk breaks).

5. Start long before sunrise on days when the temperature is expected to rise above 65 degrees. It is not uncommon for marathon training groups to start at 3-4 a.m. to avoid major heat stress and the radiant effect of the sun.

6. Build your long run to a maximum distance of at least 26 miles, for best preparation in avoiding "the wall" at the end of the marathon. As noted in #2 above, be sure to pace these long ones at least 2 min/mi slower than a legitimate marathon goal pace. Once the long runs reach 18 miles, they can be run every third week.

7. Don't try to "push through pain" if you suspect that you have an injury. This will magnify the damage. Normal signs of injury are covered in GALLOWAYS BOOK ON RUNNING 2nd edition, with treatment information that has helped runners recover quickly. If there is swelling, loss of function or pain that continues after a mile, you should stop—even if you only have less than a mile to go.

8. Treatment for a possible injury includes the following: 1) stop running for 3-5 days, 2) Rub a chunk of ice on the area, for 15 minutes every night—keep rubbing, 3) Don't stretch unless you have an Iliotibial Band injury, 4) Deep tissue massage may help a muscle injury, and 5) See a
podiatrist or orthopedist who wants to help you get back to your marathon training. Ask about anti-inflammatory medication and other treatments to speed recovery.

9. Take more days off from running each week, down to 3 days—when fatigue lingers more than 3 days after a long run. The minimum necessary for maintaining conditioning between long runs is 30 minutes of walk-run, on two days between the weekend runs.

10. Add additional minutes to your predicted time, if the weather is above @58 degrees on race day. See Tip # 1, above, and page 188 in NEW MARATHON, to estimate the effect of increased temperature on your performance. It is always better to start more conservatively.

Thoughts on the table

The wonderful aspect of these thrice weekly massage therapies is all the idle time devoted to random thoughts. Not much I can do as I lay stomach down on a table with this warm sensation enveloping my left knee other than think and blog.
I woke up this morning with only minor stiffness, which I regarded as a significant victory under the circumstances. Neither run this weekend was particularly long or arduous but I hadn't gone back-to-back in months. As well, the surface conditions were not great, leaving open the possibility of slipping. Running on uncertain ground can often lead to sore lower leg muscles, I find, because you are so determined not to lose your footing.
I'm going to take a rest day and try and run once more before Saturday. I'm serious about easing back in, I don't need another injury. We have another 6K planned for Saturday with 10:1s and a 3K on Sunday. I'd be happy with a light 6K this week knee permitting. The running sked we have is nice, it gradually ups the mileage. If I follow it closely, by April I should be able to start building more base Ks in the hope of a summer season peppered with 10Ks and maybe a half tossed in for good measure.
I'm hoping to find a way to continue coming here all season so I can nip any potential injuries in the bud. I could really get used to these massages.
Now don't mind me, I think I may doze off for 10 minutes or so...zzzz.

Two days

Hey put this on your calendar, for the first time since October this morning marked the second time I've ran in two days. While the two runs combined to a bit over 9K, it's nice to get out. My hamstring is tight but not unmanageable.
I went out with two people from the clinic this morning at the Running Room. Uh oh, Elle is waking up. I'll write more later.


Fredericton Running Room -- 6K

The first day

After weeks of suspense, this morning was the first 10K clinic session. From my prespective, it went well considering I had no idea what to expect heading into the morning. Eight of the 11 registered participants showed up and we had a brief overview of the program and the on-line program. It is a wonderfully diverse group, three graduates from the fall's Learn to Run program, three university friends and some super keen runners. We even have the organizer from Fredericton's Run for the Cure. Everyone is great. My personal goal for the next week or two is to be able to remember one memorable thing about each person.
We went out for an easy 3K run around the downtown. The weather was forgiving, well, compared to some January mornings. There was a light wind and it didn't feel much colder than -5 or so. Getting decent footing on the snow-covered streets was the only mildly annoying part of the run. Everyone looked great completing the run at their own pace. One of the best parts of the morning must have been when I turned the corner around the King's Place mall and I saw everyone who finished ahead of me, stretching on the wall. Now if only I had that dedication to stretching a few months ago, perhaps I wouldn't be getting my left hamstring massaged three days a week. Alas, I digress.
For me, that silly hamstring is still bothering me. I was smart not to push myself too hard. The hamstring is still sore from when Dennis taped it on Thursday. I'm not sure why that simple move has aggravated my muscle so much, but it is truly annoying. I'm hoping to get out for the 6K run tomorrow with the group, but I want to take this rehab nice and easy, so not to make it any worse.
After the run, a few of us went to Second Cup for coffee and conversation. It was great to find out a bit more about some of the folks. Running and good coffee, a great start to the morning.


Fredericton Running Room -- Week One

The dawn of a new blog

Ok, same old blog but a whole new attitude. The Running Room 10K Clinic starts tomorrow, so I've tried to retool this blog to help out. Along the left side of the screen, I've posted the runs for the week, as well as the curriculum for the Saturday session. I hope to keep this as current as humanly possible.
Unfortunately I'm still not going to be able to run four times a week until my hamstring starts feeling better. But I will be able to go out for a few kilometres.
I had my third trip to the massage therapist on Friday morning. I was feeling progress but he taped up my leg on Thursday and limited the range of motion. The effect was a sore hamstring but I'm hoping it will be back to normal tomorrow morning.

Massages are my friend

I started seeing Dennis Wilson this week for 45-minute massage sessions. It starts with 10 minutes of one cool laser-like thing, followed by 15 minutes of another laser-like thing and then the next mind-blowing step has me don blue glasses and him use a gun-like tool to zap my ailing muscles. I'm feeling better already, although I've had to shave part of my leg, which is odd.
I'm getting excited about starting the 10K clinic on Saturday. Although I have to start my training slow, I'm really looking forward to starting to run again.