31 posts tagged “running”
For a long time, the running part of my life has been solid and improving while the other areas of my life had been unstable, chaotic and even in disarray. It seems that things have changed. Now that I'm in a stable, long term relationship with marriage on the horizon, and my job situation is more functional and positive than it has been in years, it seems the trade off is my running skills.
For the last year or so, my running ability has deteriorated. At first it seemed to only occur with long distances, like marathons and training runs in excess of 18 miles. But recently I've struggled with short runs and races, posting my worst half marathon result ever last month at the Cary March Madness Half Marathon (on the Ides of March no less).
Running has been a very cyclic experience for me this last decade. I've had seasons where I've seemed to slow down only to rise again the next year and light up the boards with new PRs. But something is different this time. It seems like I just cannot run fast or far. I've dropped down to an 8:30 mm pace group, I've done my training runs slower when necessary but I still am struggling. The only thing that seems to help even marginally is to increase the number of rest days. Therefore, as soon as I get through the next three races I've already paid for -- St Louis half marathon, Kenosha Marathon and Soldier Field 10 miler -- I will take an entire season off.
I'll still run when I can fit it in, but I won't be tied to a training schedule and there will be no races to complete. Suffice it to say, I won't be anywhere in the zip code of 1000 miles for 2009.
today was kinda of split. I woke up before 6am but couldn't bring myself to get out of bed and go running. I can justify it as it was very cold outside but given my current weight, I really need to take advantage of these moments when I can. I was doing pretty good this week too. I ran on Monday and went to a spin class yesterday, my first in months. If I run tomorrow am (not likely as SigOther is staying over) or after work, I'm no worse off.
At least I left home a few minutes earlier than usual and caught two buses without having to wait. But then when I got the IrvingPark blue line station, about 4 people ahead of me on the escalator stood instead of walked, apparently because the first guy didn't want to walk. When we were about 2/3 up the stairs, the train started coming. as soon as we were able to clear the slowpoke, most of us started running. A lady shouted something about not running people down. I wanted to tell her that we are running because we don't want to be bunched up on the last car when there are 10? other cars and we wouldn't be running if the slow people would move out of the way.
I can understand not being in a hurry. And I can sort of understand not wanting to walk up an escalator. But what I can't understand is why wouldn't you want to avoid those people who are in a rush? Why not make a little effort to move to the right so those needing to move faster can get around you.
Last Saturday I was supposed to run 13 miles. However, when I woke up, I felt very tired and didn't feel very good. It felt like I had a fever and some stomach issues although I did not have a temperature. I decided to sleep a little longer promising myself that I would get up and run 13 miles before a Runner's Brunch I had to attend. That didn't happen. However when I went to the brunch I learned that my gamble had paid off.
One good thing about leading a 8 mm group at the CARA Monroe site is that the groups are usually so small and the egos are so big that by this time in the season, everyone skips the cutback weeks. They figure anything under 13 miles can be done solo even if it is done later in the day when it's warmer.
I contemplated skipping the mileage completely because I didn't want to run on Sunday morning and thought perhaps that a few extra days off might help refresh my legs. Instead, I ran 10 miles in the heat around Portage Park. I promised myself that I would only do as many as I felt comfortable, but wanted at least 8 to make the week's mileage come out to at least 30. But once you do 8, adding 2 more isn't so difficult. I didn't try to do 13 though because I was still trying to take it easy.
I didn't get up and run this morning but that is okay because I got most of my mileage in on Monday and Tuesday this week. That allowed me to use Wednesday as a rest day and while I would have loved to have completed my 9 mile tempo run this morning, it's more realistic for me to do it after work.
This weekend is a cutback 13 mile Long Run and the next three weeks after, my weekly mileage will really pick up. I hope to be up to 50 MPW by the time of the Ready to Run 20 miler --the only 20 miler I'm doing is going to come on Sept 21 and then I will cutback to only three runs per week including the Saturday LR.
One of the components of my marathon training is the tempo run. There are several schools of thought on what a tempo run should be. One theory is the Ladder, where you start out with a warm up mile, then -- depending how deep you are in the season and that run's mileage -- you might do a mile at marathon training pace, then marathon race pace then lactate threshold pace and finally 10K pace. Then you come back down.
Another idea is that you just pick a faster pace and run most or all your miles at your tempo pace. Finally, a less popular idea is to simply run for a set amount of time at a faster pace, e.g. warm up for 10 minutes, then run tempo for 40 minutes, then cool down for another 10 minutes. I'm sure there are other variations but you get the idea.
Whatever style you choose, you need to find a place to run those miles. Running on the lakefront path during the week isn't an option for me these days. And running through the hood isn't ideal for speed work either. Luckily I've found a place where I can get the distance and speed needed without too much hassle from pedestrians or cars.
Portage Park is a short drive from my place and I'm usually halfway there after work because I park my car near the Irving Park blue line station. So as long as I remember to pack my running clothes in a bag and leave it in my trunk, I can use the pool facilities to change and then do my tempo runs around the park. The perimeter comes out to about .95 miles so the more mileage I do, the further I move from my starting point. It's kinda a little game to keep things interesting, at least as interesting as a long tempo run can be.
Our flight got in a little after 10pm yesterday and by the time we got through baggage claim and construction traffic, it was 11pm when I walked in the door. I immediately boiled some water for pasta and started my laundry; I needed to be in bed as soon as possible for today.
I'm heading to St Louis to run Marathon #18. This will be my third St Louis Marathon and the weather looks to be as good as it was the previous two. However, given all the whacky weather we've seen in the last year or so, I'm trying to pack for either too cold or too hot.
I'll post my Shamrock Shuffle report later.
It's always hard to succinctly describe how a race goes for me, so I'll simply say that today's run was very good. I set a new course Personal Record for the March Madness Half Marathon of 1:37:51. I learned that I have the ability to run at my BQ pace for 13.1 miles. I've actually run faster half marathons but this particular course gets its own distinction.
It's not called March Madness because of basketball. It gets its name from the fact that running in the middle of winter in the Midwest is crazy. The race has a history of being held during blizzards or rain storms with ice or sleet and cold and hills to boot. I've been very fortunate that each year I've run it (2005, 2006 and 2008) the weather has been moderate.
Establishing a new PR makes it hard to plead my case: that I'm losing my speed as I get older. Even though I set a new record for myself, gosh darn-it if I don't feel like I had a better experience two years ago. Today I had to concentrate on each mile to make sure that I either didn't go too fast or pushed myself to keep a particular pace. Whereas two years ago, I seem to recall that my pace was more natural and I simply cruised through some of the same miles that gave me struggle this year.
Technically, I ran these 13.1 miles at the pace I need to qualify for the Boston Marathon. However, I know that this is no guarantee that I will do it in three weeks in St Louis. There's still work to be done.
No one from my pace group showed up today so I ran with a guy from the 7:30 mm pace group. It was a cutback week and we were running 10 miles, which is a good distance to run, but a manageable distance that most experience runners can run solo if need be. That is probably why the two consistent runners I've had this season choose to sleep in.
I'm use to leading small groups. When I was a pace leader at the downtown CARA site, there weren't many people who ran at the 8 minute per mile pace I led. Most weeks I had one or two runners, not always the same from the previous week. The only time I had a larger group was when I led at the Montrose site two summers ago.
So I had the choice of running solo, running with the 8:30s or running with this 7:30 mm guy who's group leader didn't show. I decided to run with him but asked that we take it slow on the way out and he could take off on the return if he wanted.
Little did I realize that I would end up running at his pace for the majority of the run! For one thing, I ran six miles yesterday morning before work for a rare Friday run. When I saw our time for the first two miles -- 7:38 and 7:23 -- I thought okay, I can do this on the way out but on the way back it's gonna catch up with me. It never really did. We did our 10 mile run averaging a 7:36 pace.
The other thing I figured was that if this person ran with the 7:30s, than chances are he actually runs faster and would want to pick it up even more on the way back. In fact, he was secretly struggling a bit because he wasn't hydrating or layered properly. His youth got him through the run but at times I was the one pushing the pace on the way back more than he had on the way out.
It helped that the running path was, for the most part, clear of ice and snow. We also had a warm day, at least warm for Chicago Winter. It probably also helped that I did a lot of cross training this week and ate healthy, bringing my weight down to 188 lbs. Shockingly, all my runs during the week came in the AM before work.
So I'm proud that I was able to "lead" a 7:30 pace group for 10 miles. I know that I couldn't do it for an entire season even though I ran the Soldier Field 10 miler at a 7mm pace last year. While I was keeping pace, the last couple of miles were depleting all my reserves and if I had to run more miles after that, I would not have been able to do so.
Maybe that's the secret: run the last couple miles of all the long runs all out with nothing left for the return trip. There are six weeks left before my next marathon. I must not waste them.
I'm in the process of posting my marathon story on another site and will gladly send a link to any readers that request it. The story is quite long so I won't put it here and having it elsewhere helps encapsulate my identity even though it wouldn't be terribly difficult to figure out who Icarus is in the real world.
What I will post here is my marathon thoughts along with a handy Runner Vocabulary chart I put together while I had nothing else to do the other day.
Everyone is writing about how the Chicago Marathon Officials blew it this year, both in preparation for the extreme heat and the Public Relations fiasco after the fact. There’s nothing I can say that will really add additional insight nor can I provide an untapped point of view. The simple fact is uncontrollable circumstances intersected with personal desires. We knew it was going to be hot and no one made us run. The only reason the marathon wasn’t canceled was because the marathon exists so Elites can attempt to set world records. Even with that in mind, no one could have really stopped us from attempting the race either.
For those that do not know what happened, here's the abridged version:
"History was made by a record high temperature for October 7th of 88 degrees, which was also a record high temperature for the Chicago marathon. History was made by the enactment of an emergency contingency plan that closed the race 3 ½ hours after it started. The approximate facts are: 45,000 registered participants, 9,000 of whom did not show up for the race, and 11,000 of whom did not finish. One person died, due to a pre-existing heart condition called mitral valve prolapsy. Over 300 people were either treated in medical tents located along the course or in area hospitals for heat-related illnesses. All week, the negative publicity has swirled around the city and nationwide." from AB's Marathon Story.
Depending on where you were at the 3.5 hour mark, you either got to continue on the course or were re-routed back to the Start/Finish area. You were allowed to get your medal, but your time is unofficial.
There was talk about how the marathon snafu could impact Chicago's chances of hosting the Olympics. That really shouldn't come in play since the marathon is a privately organized event put on by LaSalle Bank that pays the City of Chicago for the permits to block off the street and Police & Emergency resources. And while the City has its input and makes money off the tourist dollar, it was LaSalle's baby.
This isn't the first scandal associated with this year's marathon either. Earlier in the year, when registration closed, some running stores and clubs that had purchased or otherwise access to special blocks of marathon entries were providing people who missed out on registration the opportunity to purchase these entries, at the additional cost of buying merchandise from the story or joining the running club. A perfectly legitimate, if arguably swarmy way of doing business. [If they didn't have these blocks of tickets, the marathon wouldn't have been sold out so soon, goes one argument.]
The point is that no one remembers how much uproar there was over this in April/May because its October. The Chaos that was the 2007 Chicago Marathon will too pass. What I feel bad about is the runners who were not allowed to continue on the course at their own choosing, and/or first time marathoners who now have this experience burned into their memory.
Whether it is ones first, fifth or fiftieth, runners prepare for months to run a marathon. Almost all of them have some type of goal whether it’s to simply finish, set a new PR or BQ. Ultimately, it really comes down to the kind of day you have. The weather can be in your favor or work against you.
One good thing about this experience for those that participated in the race is that no runner, no marathoner, no athlete worth their weight in gold will think any less of anyone who didn't or couldn't finish this race. Be it because of the heat, the lack of fluids, or being forced off the course. Be proud of your accomplishments.
My training schedule called for another 20 mile run and since Mark's group was doing something completely different, I asked Jerry, my friend and former co-group leader if I could bandit with his group on Saturday. He had no problem with it so I arrived at the CARA site around 6:20 or so and said hello to some of the people I ran with last summer.
Sidenote: Most running groups don't appreciate bandits because they theoretically consume resources and are taking something for free that others in the group have paid for. I suppose that is true whether you only show up for one run or bandit all summer. Still, I've group lead for CARA since 2003, winter and summer, and that should earn me a freebee perk now and again.
We started out our run and Jerry and I ran together for a bit to catch up on things. It turns out he sorta went out on a date with a girl I know through So-Suede, whom I was thinking of asking out as well. Based on what he's told me, and the lack of feedback from So-Suede, I'm lowing the priority on asking her out. Next time I run into her, if things seem positive, then I will.
About three miles into the run, I started having some stomach issues. I was already fading back and decided to stop for a moment when I dry heaved (except it wasn't so dry). Surprisingly, I felt better and decided to start running again. I wasn't going to try and catch up but I hoped to keep them in sight until the next water stop. I got there just as they were leaving so I took a quick drink and continued on.
Still at the back of the pack, it was here that I found myself in the wake of Erica and Lindsey's conversation. They said something and I made a remark and before I knew it, I was part of the discussion. I really didn't want to talk during this run but Erica has a way of keeping you engaged. Before I knew it we were at the next water station. I learned that Erica and her husband had just moved to Chicago from New York in the spring and that she has done 30 marathons.
Erica was also having a slow day so she appreciated the company. We made it through Sun Valley - the stretch between North Ave and Ohio Street Beach where there is no shade from the early morning sun. Along the way people in other running groups shout out hellos specifically to me and Erica remarks, "You're also a Mayor of the running path." When you group lead for four years and have train for a run 15 marathons, you tend to meet a lot of runners.
By this point I had skipped three chances to hit a bathroom and I knew that I couldn't skip a fourth. I said I would be stopping at the next water station but no need to wait for me. After taking care of business and getting some more gatorade and a gel, I started off again. Surprisingly, I could still see the group with Erica, Lindsey and another girl bringing up the rear. About a mile or so later, I caught up with them as we were a little more than half a mile from our turn around point and a quarter mile away from the rest of the group.
At the turnaround Erica needed to stop to make some adjustments, I said that I needed to keep going so we bid adieu, knowing that she might catch up. If I had any chance of catching up to the group, it ended when I stopped at a water fountain. I noticed that I was taking longer swigs of water which meant that I was dehydrated. Because Jerry takes his group north first, we get 3 miles in before heading south like the rest of the group, our turnaround is actually beyond 10 miles. Therefore, I know that I have less than 10 miles to make it back to my car, in fact I should have less than 8 miles from this fountain.
I tell myself that I just have to make it to the next Water Station, the one I stopped at for the bathroom break. I get there and drink some gatorade. For this run I stuck to taking a gel every 5 miles and alternating between water and gatorade at every other Water Station. I also started taking my endurlytes to avoid any leg cramping. I'm pretty much running alone though some groups come up beyond and pass me, and surprisingly I still pass a few as well. I make to the Sun Valley and wish for a breeze to go with the sun. No such luck, but at least it's not unbearably hot. It's only 9 am or so.
At the next Water Station, I take my last scheduled gel. I have two more in my pack just in case but hope that I don't need them because Crashing could occur. Its at the point where re-starting is hard once you stop so I'm determined not to stop again until the last Water Station two miles from here. I cross over the bridge from North Ave to the park and look forward to some shade. It is around here that Lindsey catches up and says that Erica is right behind.
Erica and I are reunited as Lindsey and her friend take off. They had stayed back to make sure Erica was okay but now they were transfering that duty to me, even though it was more like she had to take care of me. If I didn't want to talk on the way out, I wanted to talk even less on the way back, but I knew that I needed to run with someone. The Running Gods had deemed that this 20 mile run would not be a complete solo adventure. They made sure I got up and to the site in time; that I started out with Jerry's group; and that when needed, some additional resources would find their way to me.
Erica starts her run from Belmont so she was jumping out there leaving me with a little over two miles to go. At the last Water Station we caught up to Lindsey and also ran into people she knew, whom I happened to have met before as well. As much as I enjoyed the break, I wanted to get started again and thought about taking off since she was going to be dropping off in 400 yards. But I waited it out and we said our good-byes as Lindsey and her friend stepped up to make it back to base.
A little more than a half mile later, I wanted to stop for water but the line at the fountain was so long that I continued on. I made it to the water fountain that Jerry likes to stop at on the way out but often skips on the way back because its just one mile to go. I stopped and drank what seemed like a large amount of water. I took off again and I'm not sure what my speed was but I seemed to be doing
At the end of the run the trail goes around a hill. As far as hills go, it's not much compared to San Diego, St Louis or Cincinnati. But it's the best Chicago has to offer and we often have the choice of either taking the trail or taking the hill. I knew that I wasn't going to take it fast or very strong but I also know that at the end of Chicago, there is a little hill where PR's go to die. I know that if I get through the first 26 miles of the course and still have a chance to qualify for Boston, that hill is going to be the only thing standing in my way. So I took the hill and ran over it all the way to where my car was parked.
A dip in the lake followed by brunch at Anne Sathers made the morning complete.
