A Passion for Running

I just came back from a run that was designed to shake this head cold loose. While I’m not certain it worked, it didn’t seem to have done any harm. Besides that, you can never go wrong with some endorphins floating around in your blood. Right?

Especially with being sick, I was impressed with the pace for this easy run – 7:50 min/mile for 60 minutes. Over the past ten or so months, my paces have steadily dropped. I still remember when “easy” was nine or more minutes per mile.

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict something. Within the next year, I am guessing that:

1. My easy training pace will become 7:30ish minutes per mile, and
2. My hard training pace will become 7:00 minutes per mile.

You heard it here first!

I took Thursday off after my sweet one-mile PB and then proceeded to get a terrible head cold on Friday. No running in three days. Ugh.

I’m feeling really stiff so I’ll try to get out later today if my head is up to it.

At the end of 2004 – prior to my learning the Pose Method and switching to high mileage training – my best one mile was clocked in 6:25.

On February 23/07 – after a two year hiatus from serious training, and followed by a long winter of base training – I decided to test myself and came up with a 6:19.

Today – a bit more than two weeks after Regina marathon – I decided another test was in order.

I’m pretty excited about this! But am I being greedy to say I’m also a bit burned I missed getting a sub-6:00 mile? I guess that’ll be another day’s triumph huh?

Whining aside, McMillan’s Running Calculator says I’m good for a 20:58 5k (6:45 pace) and a 43:32 10k (7:00 pace). Those are the two races I’m considering for October.

There was dry-heaving a-plenty at the end of that mile but it was SO worth it.
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Aside: I need to shave 8 seconds off my mile time to beat my friend Nick’s SNOWSHOE world record mile time of 5:56.

Well, it’s been two weeks since the Regina Marathon and, interspersed with re-living that moment over and over and over, I’ve been thinking about what comes next. Here’s what I have so far.

Some Short Races: There are some 5k, 10k, 5 mile & 10 mile races around the 2nd and 3rd week in October. I’m pondering doing a couple of races then. I don’t expect too much since I haven’t done any race-specific training for those distances. However, I am wondering how my marathon fitness might translate in those shorter distances. hmmm…

Marathons: Of course I want to do more of them! After all, I’m getting faster and, at 40 years of age, I think I’m just getting started! In case you’re wondering, the goal for the next year will definitely be to qualify for the Boston Marathon. That would mean running a marathon in 3:20:59 – roughly 10 minutes faster than I ran my last one. That time works out to about a 7:40 minute per mile pace.

What amazes me about the Boston goal is that I’m even writing it down. It took FIVE marathons for me to get a 3:45 marathon and I worked hard in each of those marathons. However, what I’ve learned in the last year is that hard is not always right plus, now that I’ve changed how I train and acquired two PRs, a 3:20 Boston Qualifier seems attainable. Of course, it’s going to take consistency and dedication but, what meaningful goal doesn’t?

Strength Training: If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, you probably know about my struggles with chronic pain. Although things are currently much better than they were in that link you just saw, I’m still having some problems with my shoulder+neck thing. The good news? With the help of my soon-to-be-cousin who happens to be a Chiropractor and A.R.T. practitioner, I’ve finally figured out the root cause for my problem. Are you ready for this? It’s a RIB – a subluxated rib. What no one – no doctor or other chiropractor – ever figured out is that I have a really stubborn rib that has been the cause of all my grief. And how do I now know this? Because as soon as Dan pops that sucker back in, I have INSTANT and SUBSTANTIAL relief.

But, here’s the catch: Cousin Dan the Chiropractor tells me I need to get into the gym and strengthen my back, chest and shoulders so that, when he puts my rib back in, it stays in. So, I have some work to do. So be it.

So that’s it for the moment. What? You were expecting more? Well, if you’re so great let’s see your goals!

On another note, yesterday’s blast from the past was so much fun, I thought I’d embarrass myself some more. This picture was taken in 3rd year university (I would have been about 23). I have NO idea why I am dressed and posing like that but I THINK it was my roommate (Mary) that dared me. My kids just saw the picture as I was drafting this post. They think I looked “dumb”. Who am I to argue?

Recovery/not training is nice. No ties. No, “go this long at this effort”. No target heart rates. No …nothing.

Just …RUN Forrest!

And I have been running. Not every day but I am being fairly consistent (have not missed two days in a row for the last week).

I feel good – with absolutely no niggles from the marathon.

Highlights? Well, one day last week I ran a fairly low-key mile in 6:25. By “low-key” I mean it wasn’t a full out effort. I just wanted to see if I was capable of some speed.

Today marked the return of the weekly long run. Not so long though – a relatively slow, short 10ish miles in a bit under 90 minutes.

Smiling.

I was looking through old photos and…

Yes, I once had hair (I was about 21 here). Not as nice as Susan’s but I did have some!

In this post and this post on his blog, and in this article on CRN, my long time blogging friend Jon has shared his newfound liberation from the world of high-heeled, cushioned running shoes.

I think I’m even more excited to hear about Jon’s success than I was about my own.

What Jon is learning is that running in a minimalist shoe can result in better foot+leg strength, better mechanics and – most important – less injury.

Jon’s history is much like mine – YEARS of running with horrible shin splints that didn’t go away until I made the switch to a minimalist shoe and spent time learning proper running form.

Welcome to the club, Jon! I’m ecstatic about your success and newfound pain-free running!

P.S. Jon – ever heard of Arthur Lydiard?

Besides the photos on this page there is also a must-see photo here.
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@ about 18 miles

the big, happy finish line

A few months ago, I posted an article about age and weight grading on CRN. Here’s an update on my PR age+weight grading history including the new Regina Marathon PR:

Date: October 2003
Age: 36
Weight: 167
Marathon Finish Time: 3:42:53
Finish Time Age+Weight Graded to 25 Years of Age: 3:18

Date: May 2007
Age: 39
Weight: 160
Marathon Finish Time: 3:38:28
Finish Time Age+Weight Graded to 25 Years of Age: 3:13

Date: September 2007
Age: 40
Weight: 164
Marathon Finish Time: 3:30:35
Finish Time Age+Weight Graded to 25 Years of Age: 3:04:58

Getting old ain’t so bad!
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People who like stats may also want to see my updated PR and marathon history page.

Just jotting some stuff down so I don’t forget.

1. Something Amiss: Although I am very pleased about the result in Regina, something was definitely “off”. I was not at my best on race day. I am not sure if it had something to do with the whole race jitters = adrenaline = high heart rate thing but, what I do know is that I did not run nearly as comfortably, or as fast as I did in my training runs. I’d like to figure that out.
2. Mental Toughness & Pacing: I used a few methods to stay on pace through the rough patches of the race. First, I focused on passing people. The phrases I used were, “I’m tougher”, “I have more guts” (hat tip to Prefontaine), and “You’re mine”. Second, I concentrated strongly on a high turnover, short stride length combination. In other words, I focused on low to the ground, efficient form. Third, I recalled advice I got from Andrew not to let my heart rate slow in the final miles. Andrew said that the body protects itself by slowing and, even though it may feel like you are working very hard (and not slowing down) in the later miles, heart rate and pace will concurrently slow. I found this to be highly accurate and discovered that maintaining pace had a lot to do with keeping my heart rate as high as it had been in the earlier miles. This was a good lesson since I always thought heart rate would only rise in the latter stages of a marathon.
3. Rest & Pre-Race Fueling: Pre-race fueling and hydration were excellent and I was well rested prior to the race. Bonus: I have always over-hydrated prior to marathons. This has always resulted in one very long pee break! Not this time. Hydration was perfect. I cannot think of anything here that I would improve.
4. On Course Fueling: I alternated between drinking water and gatorade at about eight water stations. I did not eat anything (no gels, powerbars etc) during the race.
5. Walking: I did not walk a single step of that race. In fact, now that I think about it, I recall using this as one of my mental tricks. I told myself that walking once would lead to more walking. I refused to let myself walk even a step. I have a two-marathon no walking streak.

I think that’s it but I may come back to this post if I think of anything else.