There are so many great running routes here in the North Carolina Triangle. Let's run on one... mentally!
Out the door, it's a perfect 50°, ideal for running in shorts and a tee shirt. The plan today is to run a hilly route with extra effort on the uphills. Up the street of the subdivision and onto a secondary road with light traffic. This first 0.7 miles is all uphill so the heart gets to work immediately and the blood starts pumping. Running on the edge of the road facing traffic, periodic oncoming cars means hopping over to the grass shoulder with uneven footing. That part is good because it strengthens the ankles! At a tee in the road, a right turn leads to a nice long downhill. The feel of the pace getting faster and the duration of time airborne with no feet touching feels great. Towards the bottom of the hill there is a radar "Your Speed" sign. Will it "see" me? Cars go by and it reads 35, 40... Then it happens as I get closer, no cars, a clear shot. I run faster and see it read 10 mph then it shows 11 mph! That's it, I pass the sign. "wow 11 mph", I think! Sweet. Just past the sign I turn right onto a paved nature trail winding along a creek. A canopy of trees, creek on the right, swamp on the left. A deeper part of the swamp, near the road is loaded with turtles basking in the sun on branches and logs sticking out of the water. The trail opens up to a pond and a Great Blue Heron takes off in flight with quiet grace. The path leads to a road with a very steep hill. Focus! The heart is pounding, the lungs are searing, the top is nearing! Why do I always feel the worst at the crest of the hill after the hard part is over? Always happens that way. Now this desolate feeder road is rolling, just like a roller coaster. If you run fast enough down can you coast up the next one? No. But it feels like it. It's been a workout so far as the 2.5 mile point approaches of the 10 mile route. Been here too many times to count. It's going to get easier, not harder! (good thing to know about distance running). Another mile of rolling hills on roads and then the entrance trail to the Duke University "Al Buehler Cross Country Trail". A wonderful wide dirt trail. It's downhill from the connector trail to the main loop. I set my watch time to time the 2.91 mile main loop run. Immediately there is a very steep uphill. This one is so steep it makes more sense to run up it in a zig-zag pattern, rather than crawling!
At the crest the heart is pounding, the legs are burning. Time to recover on the steep downhill. Slowly with the brakes on until the slope begins to level. Then.. pow.. the legs start running like shot out of cannon. Down and up the short uphill onto rolling winding terrain on the trail in the woods. This is simply wonderful. It's into the 5th mile and feels easier now... see, I promised! Around a creek and pond and up a hard hill which led to an even harder hill. This one seems to go on and on. The top of the hill is at a road crossing for the entrance to the Country Club. This trail circumnavigates the Duke Golf Course, but in the woods the whole way. This crossing is a "Rocky" moment. I can hear the music. It's the top and there is a very nice, long downhill to follow. Time to make up the pace. The legs open up and fly down, faster and faster. Passing walkers like they are trees. Feet are airborne alot but still landing with the foot planted right under the body, mid sole, ready to push off the hill to keep airborne. It's an indescribable feeling. I used to have dreams of running effortlessly and of being able to fly. Dreams come true! For awhile. Actually more than a mile! A long while! Before the rolling hills hit again. But these hills are short and very runnable so a good pace can be maintained. Powering up the hills and flying down the hills. There's a guy running up ahead and I'm closing in. Closer, closer.. I pass. Really flying now. I notice he's right behind me? What? He must have kicked it into gear too. Faster, faster.. I'm timing the loop, remember? The loop finishes just up ahead. Record time! Thanks stranger! Back out of the trails to the roads, the nature trail and the hill by the Radar Sign. A mile and a bit to go. This long hill takes alot of focus. Pace slows and finally the top is reached. It's ALL DOWNHILL to home now! Let's crank it. Feeling great in the 10th mile running hard and feeling the pace quicken. Bad news.... we're home!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Boston Fever...... it's contagious!
It's April. The end of March Madness and the beginning of Boston Marathon Madness. Completing a marathon is all about setting goals and accomplishing them. From the first mile run to the first 20 miler to finishing the 26.2 mile marathon. Oh what a feeling! Such satisfaction and pride! But now what? Run another one? With what purpose? To run it faster (a Personal Record or "PR"?).
The Boston Marathon is considered the "Holy Grail" for running because of it's storied history and also because not everybody can run it. You have to "Qualify" by running another marathon within a qualifying time. There are different qualifying times based on age groups.
Nothing is as easy as it sounds.
After my first marathon in October 2004, I had a crazy idea that maybe I could qualify forBoston
The Boston Marathon is considered the "Holy Grail" for running because of it's storied history and also because not everybody can run it. You have to "Qualify" by running another marathon within a qualifying time. There are different qualifying times based on age groups.
Nothing is as easy as it sounds.
After my first marathon in October 2004, I had a crazy idea that maybe I could qualify for
I had a bottle of champagne in my fridge at home that I wrote “BQ” on it in January 2005 before my second marathon at Myrtle Beach Marathon . I hobbled through that one, not pretty! So the bottle sat. I geared up again for Myrtle 2006, only to pull the same hamstring a few weeks prior so had to DNS (did not start). So the bottle sat. Then I found the secret to hamstring stretching and had a good run at the Frederick, MD Marathon Chicago
That race was perfect. Cold weather, which I like, I felt fresh and held a good pace. I started celebrating and savoring the moment for the last mile only to realize I was closer than I thought. A sprint the last 0.2 miles gave me 3:35:49 (10 seconds to spare!). Back then I was able to register for Boston and got in (it was not filled yet).
A BQ!!! Pop the cork! The Champagne was drank!
Like many runners who BQ'd for this year's Boston Marathon, I was not able to run it. Not because registration filled up as was the case in October 2010, but I suffered another injury. The worst ever...
April 16th 2007, I sat at home and WATCHED the Boston Marathon for which I qualified!
It was actually a good thing because a Nor'Easter hit them that day!
I was still qualified for 2008 and I ran Boston that Year in perfect weather!
For all those out there who have Boston Fever, I only have this advise:
Never Give Up!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Running with 1400 mile shoes?
Shoes are the interface between runner and road. Running involves alot of pounding impact.
When Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile on May 6, 1954, he had trained exclusively with thin leather soled track shoes. Everybody ran that way. It was not until 1972 that a line of shoes developed by Coach Bill Bowerman, made with his waffle iron, became the Nike brand. Finally, runners had cushion to make that impact seem softer. So started a multi-billion dollar running shoe industry. Multiple times a year, "improvements" were made. More cushion, more support, tailored support. All good for running right?
There is much controversy about running shoes. Did our ancestors who ran barefoot to track down dinner have frequent running injuries? Those who did surely did not survive. They would starve! So Mother Nature says you don't need shoes. The adult body has 206 bones. Each foot has 26 bones. That is 52/206 or 25% of the total bones, just in the feet. This complicated architecture is designed for long distance running. For generations modern civilization has worn shoes which support the foot and make the arch non functional and the muscles atrophy. After decades of running injuries, despite the shoe designs, there is a recent trend to minimalist shoes. The problem is those muscles and bones in the foot have to be re-conditioned (if it is not too late) to be strong enough to function as intended. Many runners are trying to do this. In Christopher MacDougall's book, "Born to Run", there was an interesting reference to a study in which a correlation was found between newer shoes and HIGHER injury rates. The older, more comfortable shoes had lower injury rates.
This last training cycle, I decided to keep a pair of my Asics 2140's in rotation and see how long they last. (I rotate a newer pair, old pair and moderately old pair). Without fail the oldest shoes felt the most comfortable and I'd have my best runs in them. I used to retire shoes as per shoe manufacturer's recommendation every 300-500 miles.
I was happy when my Asics hit 1000 miles and felt good with pretty even tread wear. I ran my last marathon 2 weeks ago in those shoes with 1400 miles! No foot problems at all. No injuries have cropped up. They feel great.
Running is a personal experiment and trying different things that work for you is encouraged!
[note: One attributing factor in my shoe longevity, and no injuries is becoming a mid-foot striker, rather than heel first]
1450 mile Asics 2140's
When Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile on May 6, 1954, he had trained exclusively with thin leather soled track shoes. Everybody ran that way. It was not until 1972 that a line of shoes developed by Coach Bill Bowerman, made with his waffle iron, became the Nike brand. Finally, runners had cushion to make that impact seem softer. So started a multi-billion dollar running shoe industry. Multiple times a year, "improvements" were made. More cushion, more support, tailored support. All good for running right?
There is much controversy about running shoes. Did our ancestors who ran barefoot to track down dinner have frequent running injuries? Those who did surely did not survive. They would starve! So Mother Nature says you don't need shoes. The adult body has 206 bones. Each foot has 26 bones. That is 52/206 or 25% of the total bones, just in the feet. This complicated architecture is designed for long distance running. For generations modern civilization has worn shoes which support the foot and make the arch non functional and the muscles atrophy. After decades of running injuries, despite the shoe designs, there is a recent trend to minimalist shoes. The problem is those muscles and bones in the foot have to be re-conditioned (if it is not too late) to be strong enough to function as intended. Many runners are trying to do this. In Christopher MacDougall's book, "Born to Run", there was an interesting reference to a study in which a correlation was found between newer shoes and HIGHER injury rates. The older, more comfortable shoes had lower injury rates.
This last training cycle, I decided to keep a pair of my Asics 2140's in rotation and see how long they last. (I rotate a newer pair, old pair and moderately old pair). Without fail the oldest shoes felt the most comfortable and I'd have my best runs in them. I used to retire shoes as per shoe manufacturer's recommendation every 300-500 miles.
I was happy when my Asics hit 1000 miles and felt good with pretty even tread wear. I ran my last marathon 2 weeks ago in those shoes with 1400 miles! No foot problems at all. No injuries have cropped up. They feel great.
Running is a personal experiment and trying different things that work for you is encouraged!
[note: One attributing factor in my shoe longevity, and no injuries is becoming a mid-foot striker, rather than heel first]
1450 mile Asics 2140's
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Marathon Dog
Tory is my best 4 legged friend. I owe him so much.
In the Fall of 2004, after my first marathon, I go into the office an my coworker, Charlie, who always encouraged me and gave attaboys after each distance milestone, said " I see a sub 4!" Why do people do that?
After some low mileage weeks I started training for the 2005 Myrtle Beach Marathon... flat, fast and cool weather! I increased the training paces and Tory joined the longer runs because it was nice and cool.
When running with a dog there are things to check periodically.
1. Is the gait normal and peppy (not favoring any leg)
2. Is the tongue normal pink and not red (as in dehydration)
3. Is there still interest in going after a squirrel, rabbit or deer?
As long as these are fine, no problem. In mid December 2004, Tory and I ran 18 miles together. He was fine with no water needed. (he drank normally when we got home, not like he was overly thirsty. Temperatures were in the 30's.
In early January we ran Tory's first 20 miler! He did great averaging 8:30 pace! Alot of the run was on trails in the woods.
January 22, 2005 was a very memorable day. We ran our last long run before the February 19th marathon.
The American Tobacco Trail in Durham, NC had a 6.5 mile section. Tory and I ran out and back and out... by mile 13.1 we averaged 8:12 pace. Just past the turn-around for the second out-and-back, we hit mile 20 at 8:22 pace. That was a good place to quit but we were 6 miles from the car. No sense in being heroic but...
so we ran/walked the last 6 (more walking) and added 0.2 miles more. That leg avgd 9:45 pace.
We finished the 26.2 mile training run in:
We drove home and Tory went to the back door wanting to go outside. I let him out and he gave me that stare! "Let's play". SO I threw a ball for him a few times as he barreled after it...... I was walking very stiff!
Myrtle '05..... I hit the half at an 8:05 pace (a PR....uh oh!) The second half was ugly but I finished with 3:53:01... and learned a lesson..."START SLOW"
When I returned to work "someone" mentioned qualifying for the Boston Marathon....................
In the Fall of 2004, after my first marathon, I go into the office an my coworker, Charlie, who always encouraged me and gave attaboys after each distance milestone, said " I see a sub 4!" Why do people do that?
After some low mileage weeks I started training for the 2005 Myrtle Beach Marathon... flat, fast and cool weather! I increased the training paces and Tory joined the longer runs because it was nice and cool.
When running with a dog there are things to check periodically.
1. Is the gait normal and peppy (not favoring any leg)
2. Is the tongue normal pink and not red (as in dehydration)
3. Is there still interest in going after a squirrel, rabbit or deer?
As long as these are fine, no problem. In mid December 2004, Tory and I ran 18 miles together. He was fine with no water needed. (he drank normally when we got home, not like he was overly thirsty. Temperatures were in the 30's.
In early January we ran Tory's first 20 miler! He did great averaging 8:30 pace! Alot of the run was on trails in the woods.
January 22, 2005 was a very memorable day. We ran our last long run before the February 19th marathon.
The American Tobacco Trail in Durham, NC had a 6.5 mile section. Tory and I ran out and back and out... by mile 13.1 we averaged 8:12 pace. Just past the turn-around for the second out-and-back, we hit mile 20 at 8:22 pace. That was a good place to quit but we were 6 miles from the car. No sense in being heroic but...
so we ran/walked the last 6 (more walking) and added 0.2 miles more. That leg avgd 9:45 pace.
We finished the 26.2 mile training run in:
We drove home and Tory went to the back door wanting to go outside. I let him out and he gave me that stare! "Let's play". SO I threw a ball for him a few times as he barreled after it...... I was walking very stiff!
------------------ AMAZING-------------------
Myrtle '05..... I hit the half at an 8:05 pace (a PR....uh oh!) The second half was ugly but I finished with 3:53:01... and learned a lesson..."START SLOW"
When I returned to work "someone" mentioned qualifying for the Boston Marathon....................
Friday, April 1, 2011
Man's Best Friend
There must be a better way. It kept repeating... the temptation to quit after running with Tory on our 1 mile loop with the house Siren (as in Mythology) luring us... "quit and come home, says the Siren", right in the middle of the tough uphill section. I remember the day my neighbor pointed me to another route to run. We could go 2 miles OUT. Then we'd HAVE to run 2 miles back! Brilliant!
By spring of 2004 Tory and I were up to 6 miles as our longest run and regularly running 4 miles. My weight was down from 195 to 155!
It was a fateful day in April that I went into work and was confronted by a couple of my co-workers. "Do you want to run the Marine Corp Marathon with us in October?". Marathon... I know that's more than 6 miles right? With a "you can do this" encouragement, I said (in a REAL CONFIDENT VOICE..not).."uh, yeah, sure".
When I got home that night I looked for a marathon training plan. I Googled "marathon training plan". First hit was http://www.marathontraining.com/ .. duh. It had an 18 week schedule but the marathon was farther away than that.
http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_sch_2.html
But.. there was also a build-up schedule so we started at week 13 of that schedule which, combines with the marathon training to lead to MCM on October 31st. Perfect! Simple! Except I had never run 8 miles before which was required at the start.
http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_mile.html
(good tips here too!)
The next week I ran my longest run of 8 miles around the Asee in Muenster, Germany while on business.
So we were all set. Tory and I built up mileage together. We ran roads and trails and longer and longer.
But as the Carolina heat started, I ran more solo. It was too hot for Tory and long distances.
In September, Tory joned me more and built up his mileage. He ran his first half marathon distance in late September!
On October 31st, I ran my first marathon with my buddies. We all finished! It was the most confidence building moment of my life!! Finished in 4:32:02 and didn't walk any!
That was one of the most significant moments of my life and I owed it ALL to Tory. Without him I'd still be a couch potato! So I dedicated my medal to him. He looks proud!
By spring of 2004 Tory and I were up to 6 miles as our longest run and regularly running 4 miles. My weight was down from 195 to 155!
It was a fateful day in April that I went into work and was confronted by a couple of my co-workers. "Do you want to run the Marine Corp Marathon with us in October?". Marathon... I know that's more than 6 miles right? With a "you can do this" encouragement, I said (in a REAL CONFIDENT VOICE..not).."uh, yeah, sure".
When I got home that night I looked for a marathon training plan. I Googled "marathon training plan". First hit was http://www.marathontraining.com/ .. duh. It had an 18 week schedule but the marathon was farther away than that.
http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_sch_2.html
But.. there was also a build-up schedule so we started at week 13 of that schedule which, combines with the marathon training to lead to MCM on October 31st. Perfect! Simple! Except I had never run 8 miles before which was required at the start.
http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_mile.html
(good tips here too!)
The next week I ran my longest run of 8 miles around the Asee in Muenster, Germany while on business.
So we were all set. Tory and I built up mileage together. We ran roads and trails and longer and longer.
But as the Carolina heat started, I ran more solo. It was too hot for Tory and long distances.
In September, Tory joned me more and built up his mileage. He ran his first half marathon distance in late September!
On October 31st, I ran my first marathon with my buddies. We all finished! It was the most confidence building moment of my life!! Finished in 4:32:02 and didn't walk any!
That was one of the most significant moments of my life and I owed it ALL to Tory. Without him I'd still be a couch potato! So I dedicated my medal to him. He looks proud!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
First Running Shoes.....
Tory and I were up to running a continuous mile back in 2002. We continued to run a mile almost everyday as I recall until we went for 2 loops or 2 miles. Our house was right in the middle of a steep uphill. That was a problem. After running a mile loop there was always a decision point.... quit because there's the house... duh, or keep trudging up the steep hill for another loop. The extra loop did not always win!
Sometime after doing this for months, my right foot started hurting. My shoes were just some pair I had lying around (leather Adidas) and I decided to look for better running shoes. I remember going to the local running store (LRS in runner's lingo) and trying on pairs. I was told to run down the parking lot so they could check stride, gait, whatever. It was like...ouch, ouch, limp, limp. We decided it would be better to let the foot heel before looking at shoes. I laid of running for awhile until the foot settled. I still took Tory to the Dog Park so he could run.
The foot was healing well and I visited a running store in Toronto while on business. The guy had me try on a pair of Asics 2040's. Man were they light weight and comfy! Ever since, I stuck with the Asics 2000 series (which is now up to 2160!). These shoes are the most popular stability shoes which supports the foot from pronation (where the ankles collapse inward).
There are MANY shoe varieties with high support, low support, pronation control, neutral, high arch support, low arch support. The traditional way of determining what type you are is to step on a wood deck with wet feet and look at the pattern then compare:
Runners World video showing foot type:
http://bcove.me/00szycs3
I've stuck with the Asics 2000 stability shoes series for 8 years and recently, my philosophy on shoes and injuries have changed in a major way.... I'm STILL learning. An interesting discussion on this will follow soon.
Sometime after doing this for months, my right foot started hurting. My shoes were just some pair I had lying around (leather Adidas) and I decided to look for better running shoes. I remember going to the local running store (LRS in runner's lingo) and trying on pairs. I was told to run down the parking lot so they could check stride, gait, whatever. It was like...ouch, ouch, limp, limp. We decided it would be better to let the foot heel before looking at shoes. I laid of running for awhile until the foot settled. I still took Tory to the Dog Park so he could run.
The foot was healing well and I visited a running store in Toronto while on business. The guy had me try on a pair of Asics 2040's. Man were they light weight and comfy! Ever since, I stuck with the Asics 2000 series (which is now up to 2160!). These shoes are the most popular stability shoes which supports the foot from pronation (where the ankles collapse inward).
There are MANY shoe varieties with high support, low support, pronation control, neutral, high arch support, low arch support. The traditional way of determining what type you are is to step on a wood deck with wet feet and look at the pattern then compare:
Runners World video showing foot type:
http://bcove.me/00szycs3
I've stuck with the Asics 2000 stability shoes series for 8 years and recently, my philosophy on shoes and injuries have changed in a major way.... I'm STILL learning. An interesting discussion on this will follow soon.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
How I started running
I started running in 2002 at age 49 when we adopted our shepherd/husky mix, Tory. He was a one year old bundle of energy back then. I was a 195 lb couch potato (or is it potatoe?). To burn off his energy, I'd take him through walks in our hilly neighborhood in Chapel Hill. He would pull so hard that I would have to run a little bit to keep up. Alpha dog! After a short time running, like a minute, I'd have to start walking again. Our walks were a one mile loop. We did this everyday because he had this stare in the morning which said "let's go!" without a word spoken barked. This routine started a pattern of getting up, feeding the dog and heading out the door.... every day! Looking back, this was critical to developing a healthy lifestyle.... a daily routine, rain or shine, heat or cold.
During our daily walks, Tory and I would run a bit longer at random times during our loop. Eventually, it came to a point where we ran the entire one mile loop! That was a huge milestone which, unknown at the time, led to the Marathon Dog. But that story is for a later date....
Tory in Couch Dog mode:
During our daily walks, Tory and I would run a bit longer at random times during our loop. Eventually, it came to a point where we ran the entire one mile loop! That was a huge milestone which, unknown at the time, led to the Marathon Dog. But that story is for a later date....
Tory in Couch Dog mode:
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