Setting a Goal: Making a Plan

The first, and arguably the most important, step in achieving something is to set a goal.

I do it all the time in business and life then build plans to help me get to where I want to go.  Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don’t, but I have learned that due to my ADD if I don’t have a goal and a plan, then I’m not going to get anything accomplished.  I’ll just look around at stuff and be busy as all get out then look around again and realize I’ve gone nowhere.  It’s like going to the grocery store without a list to get milk and cereal.  I’ll come back with four or five items but no milk.

 

The longest memory is a short pencil.  I live that.

 
Some of the goals I set are beyond what I really think I can do, but I’ve found that helps me do more than I actually thought I could.  Especially when dealing with physical things like weights or running.  When I set those stretch goals I also have secondary ones that I plan to hit “on the way.”  That way I build in successes so I feel good and keep working.  That’s worked really well the past two years as I try to run a mile in under five minutes.

Only about ten people a year in my age group, or the one above or below for that matter, do that in any given year.  The air is rare up there.  Those guys are fast, fast, fast and I’d like to be up there with them.  Of course I haven’t run a sub-5 mile since I was 18 but, pffft, I don’t care.  It’s a stretch goal! 

I’ve already hit several of my secondary goals and had some great races along the way, plus I’ve learned a great deal about training and perseverance.  I’ve also had the good luck to be able to share a lot of those learning’s with other folks and hear about their successes, too.  So today I want to do some more sharing and give y’all some basic pointers for accomplishing any racing goals you might have.

 

First: Set the goal

 

Write it down, tell someone about it, and talk about.  Those things will help make it real to you and keep you working towards it even if you hit some setbacks.

 

Second: Have a plan

 

Things that are worthwhile don’t just happen.  They take effort and you work for them.  With the limited amount of time we all have, we can’t just be wasting it if we want to do something big for ourselves, and having a plan will help us be more efficient and improve the likelihood of reaching our goals.  Think the plan through starting with the finishing point.  If you’re goal is a PR in a Half Marathon, start with the race date and work your ways backwards understanding that you’re not going to be able to run the needed distances at the needed speeds if you don’t build up to it!  Knowing where you need to be and when will help lay out what you have to do to get there.  And be smart about it.  Don’t just go throwing big numbers out there like running 6 days a week 10 miles a day if you’ve never made yourself do it before.  If you’re a three day a week runner, stick to three days.  Play to your habits and strengths if you can.  If you do have to change something do it in small steps.  It’s really easy to get discouraged so it’s important not to plan for discouragement.  Plan for success and go after it in little, manageable steps.

 

Third:  Vary the plan

 

We all know shit happens.  Sometimes it’s self-inflicted; sometimes it’s not but you know it’s going to happen, so be ready to go with the flow.  Missing a workout isn’t going to be the end if you gave yourself the leeway when putting together your plan.  The other key point here is the “variety” in the “vary.”  Regardless of what you’re training to do, just going out and running several times a week is not going to get you very far.  When I began my training I first looked at what the world class “elites” do.  No, I’m not going to be one of them, but they obviously know what they’re doing so I imitate them!  Which brings up a pet peeve of mine: training plans where you don’t ever run the distance you’re going to race.  Please.  To me that’s just a plan to help you FINISH a distance, not race it.  Now, obviously, finishing is the goal for many people.  That was my goal when I ran my one and only Marathon.  I did pretty well even though I hit the wall hard at 23 miles, but I’d never run more than 18 leading up to that so what the hell else should I have expected?  Elite marathoners do 30 mile runs in their training from time to time.  Those of us who want to really race a marathon should think about doing that, too.

 

But back to the “variety.” 

A good training plan addresses lots of different systems and muscles in your body to help you get the most you can get out of yourself.  Marathoners do speed work, and sprinters do long slow runs.  Just in varying quantities and speeds.  Here are the pieces I suggest everyone needs to do when training for any distance.  There are a gazillion variations on these workouts as well as cross-training opportunities that make a difference but these are the ones that will give you the most bang for your buck.  Read that: give you the most benefit in the shortest amount of time. 

Sprint Work:  Short, 40 to 80 meter, full-out-hard-as-you-can sprints with about 4 to 5 minutes rest between each rep.  Those build leg muscle and help you learn to move your feet faster and faster. 

Speed Work:  Distances from 200 meters up to a mile.  Intervals, where you run at a fast pace then rest and repeat, work the best here.  One of the most used workouts anywhere is a “10 x” where you run ¼ the distance you’re going to race at your goal race pace, then rest for about a minute or jog for about a minute and a half then hit the rep again for a total of 10 times. 

Stamina Work:  Distances ranging from about 1/3 to the full distance of your goal race.  The iterations that exist here are also numerous but think Tempo Run since that’s the most used workout.  These runs are done just a little slower than race pace and usually for a distance a little shorter than your goal race.  These are the workouts the Kenyans (a generality, but there’s some merit there) focus on most.  Supposedly it’s almost all of their training and that makes sense since this most closely resembles your goal race.  If you’re training for a 10K then 2 to 5 mile Tempo Runs will be what you’re doing. 

Endurance:  Distances as long, or longer, than your goal race.  These are really important just so your body is prepared to do what it needs to do for a given period of time and distance.  It’s going to be very difficult to race for an hour if you never run that long in practice. 

The balance and focus of these segments depend entirely on your goal race and secondarily on your physical capabilities.  My goal race of the mile means my time is spent on Speed, Stamina, Sprint and Endurance in that order.  If you’re training for a Marathon then it’s going to be more Endurance, Stamina, Speed and Sprint.  But all of the pieces should be there. 

Plus one more:  Easy Days. 

One of the best things you can do for your body is have a day where you run, but it is short and very easy.  This type of run gets the fluids flowing through you to speed up healing, elevates your heartbeat and breathing so there’s a little cardiovascular benefit to it, but it doesn’t stress your muscles and joints at all.  Very, very beneficial. 

That variety of training will not only improve you physically faster than doing just one type of running, it makes running a whole lot more interesting and fun!  And those two things, interesting and fun, bring me to the last word on a training plan.

 

You're the designer, so make the plan fit YOU!

 

One size does not fit all in the running world and while a plan by Higdon might be a good one, it might not be good for you individually.  The same goes for any plan out there.  I've got books and articles you could read on the subject, but I realize not everyone is as geeked about running as I am.  Just think of yourself and your goals when you lay out a plan to reach them.  Play to your strengths and deal with your weaknesses in ways that you CAN and WILL deal with them.  If you hate rigid things, then it doesn't make much sense to have a 7 day a week plan complete with the time of day you run, rest, stretch and eat does it?  No.  Just make a list of three or four runs you're going to do that week.

 

Interesting and Fun.

 

If you keep those things in your running, you will do it more and do it better.

 

 

Outer Banks Marathon Weekend

Outer Banks Half

I had a great time over this past weekend and didn’t even run.

It was the Outer Banks Marathon weekend in my adopted home town but I wasn’t going to be running in any of the races this year.   Kind of odd how many people thought it was weird that I wasn’t running and it came up in every conversation I had.

“So are you running the Half?”

“Nope, just volunteering this year.”

“Why not? Are you hurt?”

That conversation was repeated a bunch.

I just did the MCM10K and am wrapping up the Rest Phase of my training for the year, so my training needs to get pretty particular at this point and I’m planning my rest days as much as I’m planning my workouts.  I need to have fresh legs to get the most out of the track and the hills, so tossing in a 13 mile run haphazardly isn’t really the best idea, plus it ain’t cheap.  Next year I’ll put it in there and maybe even see if just doing long, steady state runs can get me a decent time in the Half.  That’s what the Fall is for me: three runs a week of moderate effort and weight lifting to put back on some weight lost in the summer track season.  Not the best thing for racing, obviously, but not horrible either.  And, of course, I could make it for fun instead of for ego.  ; )

The weather in Dare County was great for races and a lot of my friends had great races.

David was running his first ever marathon after going through an amazing weight loss transformation.  He was a sprinter and talented athlete in high school, but had gained a bunch of weight after that.  The past couple of years he buckled down diet-wise and started running.  Now he’s a challenge sort of guy so simply doing a marathon just wasn’t enough:  he signed up to do the OBX Challenge and run an 8K on Saturday followed by the Marathon on Sunday.  When I raced my Half I did the same mini-version of that by running the 8K with a 13.1 mile chaser.  David hit a sub 7 minute pace time for the 8K then turned around and ran a 3:31 Marathon!  Dude…

Gretchen is a friend of mine who I helped along with a plan so she could “finish a Half Marathon and not die.”  She clocked in her first ever Half with a time of 2:16!  A whole lot faster than what she figured it would take because she didn’t have to walk any of it.

Another longtime friend of mine, Blake, was down from Maryland and surprised me with a 1:36 in the Half!  Geez…and the guy always tells me he’s not very fast.  Puhleeeze….

There were bunches of other great stories, too including Kathy who was celebrating her 1 year anniversary of beating cancer by running a 13.1 mile “victory lap” with her sisters.  Made me smile AND cry.

As for me, I got to experience the races from the other side of the barricades.  I’m being literal there.  Literally, I was on the other side of the barricades during the race.  I also got to set up those barricades the day before.  You should see what goes into the finish line area.  One serious logistical exercise being done with smiles and enthusiasm by volunteers, and it was a lot of fun.  Plus, I got to hang out and talk to friends I haven’t seen in a while which is always fun for me.

I took a couple of pictures of the “chute” and the emergency area that is massive, but somehow on race day you almost don’t even notice it.  It’s an entire hospital just like on MASH!  Okay now that just showed my age….

 

 

 For next year I’m issuing an open invitation to come run in this festival.  The first few folks who want to can avoid the hotel bill and stay with me in my house just three blocks from the finish line!  Of course you also have to pass an interview with my wife, but there won’t be any background checks (Bob) so you’re good.

Nutrition Overload

Another 10 mile run this morning.  Not hard, but not easy.  I'm still doing these longer runs with the mindset "run so you're tired, Ed."  That way I just do whatever I feel like pace-wise but I always negative split it and wind up with a pretty decent run.

It's how I did all my training for my one and only Marathon and my first Half.  I didn't really know any better at the time and was really just concerned with finishing, however training this way has it's strong points so both races were good ones.  Thinking back I actually did do two track workouts before the Half.  Now two workouts aren't going to make but so much difference, however they did show me that I really could increase my speed over 13 miles by running 800 repeats.  Yasso's 800's.  Now an absolute must whenever I'm coming up on a 10K or longer where my time matters to me.

This week Bob and I were talking about nutrition and what we've learned, and are still learning.  So during my run this morning I thought I'd share an experience I had and my thoughts on taking vitamins and supplements.  And like Cyrano I decided to do this post with a little panache and record it on the run.

So there you have it.

Run on!

2013 MCM 10K

Well, I got another cool shirt and finisher’s medal this weekend.  The Marine Corps Marathon and MCM 10K were this past weekend up in DC and I ran the 10K.  Over the past several years a group of folks have gotten together to run that race, some from Mt. Vernon High School in northern Virginia and sometimes folks from other places.  Due to various reasons the group dwindled down to just me and Teri who always hosts the overnight guests at her home and throws a fun party to boot!

That part was no different with the theme being Oktoberfest.  We had brats and knockwurst, sauerkraut, schnitzel, and too much beer.  I, of course, had the obligatory tequila shot for luck as well.  We had a great time around the fire pit laughing and telling stories before calling it a night and hitting the sack around 11:30.  After all, Teri and I had to get up at 5:30 the next morning because we had a race to run.  Responsible adults.  That’s us.

And that's us on the Metro heading to the race.

Earlier in the day I went to packet pick up and got to enjoy the sunny weather by standing in line outside the big pavilion because they had no power and couldn’t activate people’s bibs.  What normally takes 30 minutes or so stretched to hours, and when I came out with my stuff the line had easily tripled from where I first got into it.  A friend of mine from the Outer Banks said he was there for over 4 hours getting his bib.  Yeesh.

 

I realized on my drive up that I have had the ability to record some of my blog stuff in video and there are the amazing results to prove it!  Exciting, huh?  So I did more.

Here I am at the starting line:

Yes, I wore a suit.  When I did this race a couple of years ago I wore a tutu just because Tina had an extra one and didn’t want it to go to waste, so this year I decided to go the other direction.  You’d think no one had ever done that before with all the comments I got.  I must’ve been called “Barney!!” and heard “Suit Up!!” a dozen times.

Now here are 7,603 runners and one above average singer:

 

Here’s a quick update from the beginning of the race after I’d bobbed and weaved through a whole lot of people who weren’t going to get anywhere near that 40 to 49 minute estimated finish time sign that was next to that area of the starting grid:

 

It was a beautiful day, but much warmer than what the weather was calling for even the night before, so I kind of got hot what with wearing a jacket, tie and running tights.  Yes, I wore running tights.  I didn’t want to find out what sort of chaffing I could get from suit pants.  Still, the Marines along the way were great and so was the crowd at the finish.  I took a few pictures and face timed with my daughter to see what she was up to.  She’s got an audition coming up in Virginia Beach and told me that the Virginia Repertory Theater was doing Tartuffe and Olympus on My Mind.  I might audition for one of those.  It’s been forever since I’ve done a play, but I have to see when the rehearsals and performances will happen before I can jump in.

 Marines on the course.  Gave me a "Suit Up!" and "Oorah!"

 

Water station volunteers

 

Guess where this was taken 

 

 

The last mile

The finish of this race is the same as the marathon and was definitely designed by a Marine.  It’s about 150 meters up the steepest hill on the course with a 90 degree turn thrown into the middle of it.  Still, with the music blaring, crowd in the bleachers cheering, and the Marines urging you on while they line the course, it’s a great way to cap off a big race.  This year the announcer even called out my name as I covered the last few strides.

 

A guy I ran with for the last mile and I traded cameras to take pictures of each other in front of the monument as the official photogs took their shots.  I must’ve been asked a dozen times if had run the race in my suit.  I always smiled and said, “yes” but secretly thought, “No.  I just tossed it on after I finished and pinned my number to the outside of the buttoned front.”  I’ll have to wear a suit more often, though because I got to meet and talk to bunches of people just because I had it on.  One Marine named Mitch came over and introduced himself and told me he thought it was cool and impressive that I did that.  He just ran the race as well while wearing a 40 pound flak vest and pack.

I just said, “Dude.”

Celebrate A Little Every Day

Driving home from Manteo today I made my usual stop at Border Station.  No longer can I get a Blizzard there, but it's still the place I like to make a pit stop during my three and half hour commute from one home to the other.  While I was pulling into a parking spot I noticed a young woman jogging out towards the highway.  Normally people use that area to walk their dogs and what not, but she was just sort of heading out toward the intersection so I watched her for a second.  She stopped by the side of the road and held up her phone to take a picture of the "Welcome to North Carolina" sign.

I have driven by this spot I don't know how many times over the past 18 years or so, and I don't think I've even noticed that sign but a couple of times.  Here there was somebody taking a picture of it!  I thought, "Man, she's excited to be going to North Carolina!" and I immediately was reminded of how much I love coming here.  It's the state I consider to be my Home.  I have tons of friends here, a house I love, and a town I absolutely adore.  I always get excited when I drive down here, but I've never stopped to take a picture of the sign.

Maybe it's her first trip down, or maybe she's going to be getting married down here this week.  A lot of people do that in the Outer Banks.  Whatever the reason she wanted to capture that moment so she could remember and relive it again later.  Cool.

I figure every one of us does things over and over again and we allow those things to become mundane or mechanical.  Even things we love to do.  We might have even celebrated them in the beginning, but now just sort of do them, because it's what we do.  Nothing special here.  Then we find out that very thing we take for granted is something entirely spectacular to someone else.  It's a big event, a major achievement, or a completely unique occasion that they're going to celebrate, record and relish for years to come.  I take pictures all the time, but when I drive by Border Station I should grin big and think about how incredibly cool it is that I get to do what I'm doing.

Living the dream!

And of course all this reminded me of running.

I've been watching all the comments of friends who will be running Marathons or Half's in the next month and marveling at the mileage they're all logging.  Most folks are going into their tapers or just about done and I have to laugh at seeing phrases like "I won't feel bad for only doing 8.5 miles this weekend," or "just did my last 20 miler!"  I mean, seriously.  I still remember what it was like to walk/jog a single mile.  Now I can go out and run 14 miles with friends and talk the whole way.  That's ridiculous!  Those comments, and those runs, didn't just happen.  A lot of sweat, pain and effort have gone into getting to this point and I wonder if we're stopping to take enough pictures along the way?

I know there will be lots of celebrating, story telling and commiserating after those mammoth races, but I want to encourage everyone to high five somebody during their next run and take a quick moment to celebrate the fact that the run is EASY.  That you can do it.  That you're doing it with friends or all alone.  Smile about it!

Being on the journey is a blast in itself and a big deal.

Congratulations!

My footfalls make me puke

I had a couple thoughts this morning and figured I would write them down.  So here goes.  Less than two weeks from the marathon.  I'm getting a bit freaked out.  Wondering if I did enough.  Or too much.  Or whether I should even be doing this.  I'm a sprinter, for God's sake.  Not a marathonist!  An old and ancient sprinter, but a sprinter none the less.  I  may write a book, How to Get From 100 Yards to 26.2 Miles In 30 Plus Years - One Man's Journey Into Hell is what I may call it.  Maybe I won't call it anything because I grew bored of it all during the writing of the title.  Another reason I will never write a book.  I don't have the attention span to do it.  Or the talent.  In addition, if it takes me 30 years to write the book, I will be dead anyway.  I do not want to be dead and famous.  I want to be alive, rich and famous.  Not that I have much of an ego, but I do like going to the MAC machine and knowing there is money there.  Rich to me is being able to use my debit card at a store without feeling the terror of whether or not the screen will come up "declined!"  I was at Wawa the other day with a line behind me and my card wouldn't swipe.  I knew there was money in the account but the card wouldn't work.  I'm like, "there is money there, try again."  I knew the people behind me were like, "yeah right, asshole, just skulk away and let us have our coffee.  There ain't no money in there and you know it."  Because that is what I think when someone's card doesn't work.  Fortunately for me, it did finally work.  I was three shades of red and the cashier gave me a fist pump when I left.  The cashier gave me a fist pump!!!  Because my card worked.  It was like I crossed the line at a marathon.  I won.  I had money and I had yogurt.  It is the simple things is life.  Which brings us back to the marathon.

I decided to get some compression socks.  I've been having plantar fasciitius issues(not going back to spell that correctly because I don't want to, and I'm not sure I know how, btw), and some calf cramping.  So, I thought the socks may help tighten everything up.  Keep it all together.  My problem is I am not a gear guy.  I wear compression shorts because I have chafing issues.  That is about it.  Compression shorts covered by running shorts.  I don't wear tight shorts because I really don't want people to see the parts of me which tend to chafe.  So, I bought some compression socks and I know that I'm going to look funny.  My friends are going to laugh.  I am so stuck in the '70's that it is hard for me to wear any kind of gear.  It reminds me of when I was young and we would play pick up football and there would always be one kid who showed up in full gear.  No one wanted to be that kid.  Now, I'm going to be that kid who shows up at the marathon with knee high compression socks and look really out of place.  Even though many people wear this stuff and look fine.  I hope the socks help with some of the stuff I am dealing with.  I can picture being annoyed with them half way through the marathon and trying to rip them off while I am running.  I really just want to cross the finish line and get to the delicious pierogies that Steamtown has.  Can't wait to see that picture.  Me with one sock around my head and the other dangling behind me and a pierogie sticking out of my mouth.  I love marathons. 

Here is the other thing.  I have written about this before.  Some runners get so bent out of shape about other runners listening to music.  I saw on the Runner's World site the other day, people were going off about it again.  Who cares if someone listens to music?  I don't care that you don't listen to music.  I don't care if you do listen to music.  If I were in the Olympics or a competitive track meet, I would not listen to music.  I can run with or without it.  I prefer with music.  Oh...so you need to listen to your breathing and your footfalls and concentrate on your pace?!  Well, fuck you!!  I can do all that and listen to music.  I forgot my ipod for the Philly Half a few weeks ago and I concentrated on my breathing and holy crap!!  That was so boring.  I breathed like one billion and thirty times.  I counted every breath.  Do you know that when you think too much about your breathing that you actually stop breathing?  Yes...it is true.  I stopped breathing for a half mile and it almost killed me.  So, thank you people who told me not to listen to music.  I almost died.  I can listen to music and think of all kinds of things when I run.  I is not like I'm concentrating on the lyrics or the music in general.  It is just there.  It helps me enjoy the whole running experience that much more.  Mostly, I don't care what other people do or wear or how they run.  I just like seeing them out there doing it. 

So, anyway.  Less than two weeks to the marathon.   

The Rest Phase

Next week marks the end of my month long Rest Phase.  During that time I've run two to three times a week and logged a total of 69 miles which works out to just over 17 miles a week.  I've also added three one hour work outs in the gym consisting primarily of lifting heavy weights (I use the term "heavy" very loosely here) and dividing those workouts into Chest Day, Back Day and Leg Day.  So how exactly is that a Rest Phase?

Well, mostly its in the type of running I do as well as how often I do it.

Since about September of last year I was running four to six times a week and doing at least one, sometimes as many as three, very intense workouts.  That sort of training puts a lot of wear on the body and mind and eventually one hits a plateau.  I know I did.  My 1500 peaked at a 5:01 in June and went slightly backwards over the next two months.  It was time for a break so for the past month I took that break.

Each of my runs lately has been between five and ten miles and I've kept them at a comfortable pace.  Never really pushing it, but not going so slow I didn't break a sweat.  My legs always felt good even on the days after my run and I just sort of allowed my mind to relax and enjoy the scenery and the feeling of those easy runs.  I think that was the best part of this for me: the mental relaxation.  I got a little tired of pushing myself really hard one day, then spending the next day getting psyched up to do it again.  A year of that and I needed the break.  And over the last month I've found my pace has steadily crept up even though my effort never really felt like it changed.

What started as runs averaging just under 8:30 pace they wound up dropping down to right around 8 flat and still feeling like they were easy.  My endurance was improving without having to really work at it and my mind was beginning to feel that fire again.  I was itching to run fast, but I was holding back.

Well, holding back for the most part.  This past week I was down in Manteo running with friends, a couple that I hadn't seen in awhile, and we set out to do an easy eight miles.  The first seven we kept around 8:15 pace while running through trails and back roads and just all over the north end of the island, but David was saying he really wanted to take off for the final mile.  He's in training for the Outer Banks Marathon and his training runs have him looking at a 3:30 or better so he's pretty pumped.  As he talked about his training along with the rest of them I could only say I'd been taking it easy but was about ready to get started again with my sprint workouts and ramping up my mileage to build my base before starting hills in October.  David was sort of the guide that morning so as we moved along in the seventh mile he laid out where we would go because he was planning on leaving us.

That's all it took.

"I'll go with you," I said.

"Oh you think?"  He replied.

We made a turn around near the middle school and lined up the last mile down the bike path.  One guy with us was doing 16 miles so he waved goodbye and headed the opposite direction and the other two guys told us to go on without them.  I looked at my garmin and called out "6.94" and David said, "we'll go on your watch."

At the beep we took off.

Now David is about 6' 2" and a muscular black dude.  I'm short, old and white.  However, we matched stride for stride as we rolled up faster and faster.  It was funny that when my watched beeped the half mile mark it was the first time I realized that neither one of us had said a word since the start of that last mile.  Here we'd been yammering the whole damn day and now we were mute.  I glanced at him and caught him looking at me.  The last half mile was interesting because as I slowed some because I was really getting winded, he would move ahead a little and pull me along.  A moment later he seemed to slow, so I gritted a bit and accelerated some and he came back along with me.  We pumped hard and high fived when my watched chimed again.

As we turned the last corner to get back to our cars he was fooling with his garmin and announced the last mile was done in 6:23.

"Really?" I said.

"Damn that was great!" he crowed.

And it was.  It felt so good and was just cool to have him to run with.

So now it's time to start back into it for winter track by building my endurance base with longer runs and adding a fourth one on Sundays.  I still have to do the three weight days because that's needed to build the muscle I'm going to need for the speed work to come in the winter.

I'm going to have to explain the difference between sprint work and speed work, and how it's possible to do sprint and endurance work as part of "easing" into more intense workouts.  Sounds goofy, but I assure you it makes sense.

Happy running!

Perspective

I haven't written anything here for quite some time because I don't feel I have had much to say.  Or maybe it is that I feel I just would be saying the same thing over and over.  Or maybe I feel the only people who read it are the ones I already run with or talk to on a regular basis.  How exciting is that?  We got to hear Bob drone on and on about running, now let's go read Bob drone on and on about running.  The fact of the matter is that I am very excited about running.  Especially now.  Because I am putting in miles that I never thought I could.  Even after running two marathons, in the last two three weeks I have done my third, fourth and fifth longest runs.  My training runs before the last few weeks never exceeded 15.84 miles.  I just never did longer ones, for whatever reason.  Recently, I did a 16 miler, a 17 miler and this weekend, a 19 miler.  This is monumental for me because either due to some injury issues, laziness or mental blocks, I could not do my long runs in the past.  To be able to get these miles in has boosted my confidence in a significant manner.  I'm looking at a 20 mile run this coming weekend.  I have about a month and a half before the marathon and if I can stay healthy and uninjured I should be able to get the sub-4 hour time I want.  I want more than that, but anything under 4 will almost satisfy me.  Almost.  Who knows.  I am never really satisfied.  I think to be satisfied, I will have to be secure in the knowledge that I put everything I had into the event and the training.  Since I am still learning about this distance crap and how my body reacts to it, I don't think this will be my last marathon.  As much as I want it to be, it probably won't.  Because I want to put speed and endurance together and I think this will be my year of getting the endurance part down.  So, there you go, my friends.  There it is.  There is more in my tank and I know it, and until I get it all out, you are gonna have to read about it.  Or not read about and have the knowledge that the words are floating around in cyberspace annoying the readers in limbo world.  Imagine that, being in limbo between heaven and hell.  Your soul searching for something to read and my crap is what you find in the magazine rack.  In this issue of Dante's Inferno Weekly we have an article by Bob Nourse.  Just imagine that.  Like the modern version of The Pit and the Pendulum.  The Pit and the Nourseblog.  The Telltale Nourse Writing About Running.  Under the floor boards, you just hear the dull rumblings of me talking about running.  A fate worse than death.  You see, I bore myself and I am doing that here.  So, let's move on.

Last week, my dad got attacked by bees.  I have written about it ad infinitum and a lot.  He was up on a wall at his house and he stepped on a yellow jacket nest.  He was stung about 20 times and was put in the hospital.  The dude is 80 years old and he has Alzheimer's.  That is bad enough, but the miracle of it all is how he avoided falling off the wall.  The fall would have probably killed him or at least put him in serious trouble.  He is a retired West Point Colonel,  awarded the Silver Star in Vietnam and tough as nails, yet how he got off that wall while swarmed by bees is just beyond comprehension.  The wall is about 3 feet wide and the only way down is to go back through the swarm and down a tiny staircase.  There are times that I think I am pretty tough and then I think of him.  Smart and tough enough to get swarmed, stung and in some serious pain and still get off that wall.  Even in his somewhat foggy state, his once razor sharp mind was able to take over and get him out of the mess.  I am amazed by him.  Always have been.  I feel lucky that he is still around.  A little perspective is good sometimes.  

  

Watching it Work

Prepare to get your Geek on.

Over the last couple of years I've put in a ton of work and not all of it was actually running.  If I went back and added up the hours I'm betting I've spent more time reading, studying, planning and evaluating than I have running.  A lot more.  Having kept my spreadsheets, logs and copious notes I can happily say that it is paying off nicely.  Very nicely.

Since I've experienced some great gains (went from a 5:38 1500 meters to a 5:16 in just two seasons) I'm inspired to do even more.  To learn more, push more and maybe actually reach my stretch goal of breaking 5 minutes in the mile.  But the more I train, and the more I read; the more I find out stuff I didn't know.  Thankfully, each time I learn something I immediately see how it's going to help me get faster.

This past week I went out and paid for a customized training plan from McMillan Running.  You've heard me talk about Greg McMillan and his calculator (check out his site here).  I've been using the calculator for a couple of years now along with the workout suggestions, and the price of a customized plan was very reasonable, so I bought one to get me through the State Games of America in early August.

Since I've been dishing out advice and stories I thought I'd share a nuance Greg explains for the workout I did this morning.  The difference between a Speed Workout and Cruise Intervals.

Both of these workouts involve intervals, and look very similar on the surface.  However, they train you for two very different things, both of which you need to race fast.

I've done a number of Speed Workouts where I run 5 or 6 800's at a fast pace with about the same amount of rest as there is running.  1 to 1 ratio is what Bart Yasso recommends for marathoners when doing this workout.  I tended to run an 800, then walk a little bit and jog a 400.  Then I would stand still for a few seconds to get me to 3 minutes of rest or so, then go hard again.  Last week I did 5 x 800's and they were all around 2:46 with the last two faster.  My legs would just burn earlier and earlier in the reps until I was just completely rubber legging it down the last 50 meters in my last rep.  Super hard feeling workout.

In Cruise Intervals like this morning, I ran 6 x 800's only they were all over 3:00 on purpose.  Specifically, I ran 3:02, 3:06, 3:05, 3:04, 3:03, 2:59.  The object is to make them "comfortably hard" but make each one a tad faster than the one before it.  I sort of blew the first one, because I wasn't paying as much attention to my splits and went out a little fast.  So these are decidedly slower than my Speed Workouts, but not a ton different.  The next difference was the rest.  I walked maybe 25 to 50 meters after each rep, then jogged to finish out 200m.  Without stopping I rolled right into the next rep.  The effect is that my breathing and heart rate, never really came down like it does during a Speed Workout.  I was still panting as I began each rep.

Now instead of my legs burning as I was finishing each 800, it was my lungs and heart.  I was just gasping the last couple of times and right after the last rep, which I pushed to the 2:59, I had those sudden dry heaves.  That was the only time I stood still during the workout and it was only for a second or two during each heave.  I had to keep jogging to finish the workout.

To top it all off, Greg had me doing 3 x 200's and those are supposed to be at my goal race pace for my 1500.  The goal is 5 flat, so that's 40 second 200's.  Even though I was super winded, my legs felt great so I wound up doing those in 36, 35, and 33 seconds.  Once again there was no standing still and only a 200 meter jog between each.

Two similar workouts that train two different things.  The Speed Workout is designed to work my legs and develop strength and speed.  The Cruise Intervals workout is designed to increase my VO2 max which is basically how efficiently my body processes oxygen for energy.  Instead of so much muscle development, this develops the cardiovascular system.  It makes it easier to run faster longer.

Combining these two types of workouts means I will get faster, and it will feel easier.  They feed each other.

The 200's at the end help me develop the ability to kick even when fatigued as well as make me mentally tougher under those stressful moments of finishing a race like the 1500.

Having done both types of these workouts I can tell you they feel completely different, so I know they're doing what they're supposed to do.

If you're looking to improve your pace, even for a Marathon, combining these types of workouts will make a huge difference in your race times.

Happy Running!

 

Relay For Life and One More Birthday

What a great birthday week for me.

Spent the weekend of my 50th birthday down in Manteo with just about my whole family and a bunch of friends.  I also got to spend a good bit of time on Saturday and then again Sunday morning helping out at Dare County's Relay For Life event.  And what an incredible event it is.  It's kind of surprising how much positive feeling can be generated by hearing about, and seeing, such terrible life experiences.  But that's exactly what happens.

It seems to me that we tend to find the greatest strength and hope in the face of adversity.  Of course it's easier to push back against the weight of the world when there are others facing something so similar to yourself.  The whole "strength in numbers" thing.  And events like this leave me feeling humbled and empowered at the same time.

I remember the first one I attended here.

I had just finished up my radiation treatments, gotten over "the plague", and had worked my way up to walking three miles in a row.  I'd also gained back about 20 of the 40 some pounds I had lost.  I was driving in between contracting jobs and heard an ad for Relay on the radio.  "That's perfect!" I said out loud to myself and jotted down the website address so I could sign up when I got home which is exactly what I did.  I didn't join a team, or create one, or anything.  I just signed up.

Because somehow I thought it was a 5K.  And I could walk a 5K and maybe even jog some!

The next Saturday I heard another ad and heard the words "24 hours."  WTH?  Seriously?  Who the hell does any running or walking for 24 hours?  That's when I decided to actually read the website.

"Oh," I thought.  "I'm going to need a team."

So Sunday morning I stood up in church during the prayers and concerns, admitted to everyone that I was an idiot and needed help forming a team and raising money.  A dozen or so people joined up just about immediately.  It was great.

One of those folks was my Cancer Compadre, Shane.  He and I co-captained the team and did a pretty decent job of fundraising bringing in almost $ 1500.  We also had a good time camping out together that night and talking about ways to do a better job the following year, now that we understood what the hell it was we were supposed to do.  Shane and I walked a lot, too.  Hours and hours together and taking turns.  I don't know what got into me, but I started walking at the noon kickoff and just didn't stop.

While Shane and I talked about things I had mentioned that I wanted to get back to running because the past six months had given me all I ever wanted of feeling helpless and weak.  I talked about what I used to do in high school and Shane even said that he could never really be a runner because his knees always hurt and he just knew he'd hate it.  Well, as we walked a thought sort of got in my head and I wanted to see what would happen if . . . I just didn't stop walking.  How far could I go beyond the three miles I had done a few times that past week?

Turns out that was 105 laps around the track.  26 and a quarter miles.  A marathon.

I was so exhausted and limping, but I made myself do it.  Then was in agony for the next several days, but hey.  I walked a marathon.  Having done that I decided it was time to train and do something even better.  That's another story, but six months later I ran my first and only marathon. 

One year and one day after being diagnosed with cancer.  3:48 and change.

Shane started running after that day, too.  He said he was inspired by me and my efforts and since then the guy has just blown me and himself away.  He's done marathons, Half's, ultras, and even a 200 mile relay!  Had an article written about him in Endurance Magazine.  Totally cool.  He also created the Cupcake 5K as the team's fundraising tool for each year's Relay For Life.  Now it's also become the "big finish" for the weekend.  He and his wife's efforts, along with a long list of others, has taken something as rough as cancer and created a shining diamond of a moment for many, many people.

This year we sold out weeks before the event with 400 runners.  Next year we'll have to go even bigger!

So this entry doesn't go on forever, here's some pictures from the weekend.

There's Shane with the mic getting the volunteers together.

 

 

 

 

Happy Faces at the Starting Line

 

 

The fast guys take off.  Blue shorts up there, Chad, won it.  Second was Millar the guy in black there, and third went to my motivation/inspiration, 48 year old Keith in the white with black shorts.

 

 

 

On the far right edge of the picture is the Mile 1 sign.  Missed it by that much.

 

 

It's an "out and back" course, so here's heading out...

 

 

...and heading back.

 

 

The course finishes on the track with all the attendees hanging around and walkers still on the track, too.  The runners move out to the outside lanes and through the finish line by the main stage.

 

 

In my last post I talked about coming in last on purpose to encourage the folks that were struggling to finish and take the pressure off anyone who was worried about that stigma.  Well at the Cupcake 5K, the last place finisher gets the biggest applause and is accompanied by almost all of the other people who have all ready finished the race!  Another of Shane's brilliant ideas.  The race has always had people in it that were currently going through some serious cancer treatments, so there has always been people using that event, that moment, as a way of showing they were still there and still fighting.

 

This year was no different.

 

The last place finisher went the whole way using a walker and hauling her oxygen tank along with her.

 

 



 

When she finished she took the mic from Shane and encouraged all of us to take advantage of our lives and live them to the fullest.

 

 

 

That wonderful experience was enhanced because I had another friend who came down from Maryland to run the 5K and support me and the team.  My fraternity Little Brother, Blake.  If you've read my book he played a significant part in a turning point for me during my treatments.  He and I walked together behind this woman and chuckled at each other because we were both crying behind our sunglasses.

 

 

 

And heeeeerrrreee's Blake!

 

 

 

All in all I couldn't have asked for a nicer way to spend my birthday weekend.  I even was able to win my age group.  Of course it helped that I wasn't lumped in with Keith anymore.  ; )

 

 









A little lesson in humility

The problem with having a blog is that you have to write stuff on it.  Otherwise, you probably should not have a blog.  I should not imply that there is a problem with having a blog.  The problem lies in the fact that if you have one, you should write on it.  Even if people totally ignore it.  With all that being said, what happens if you actually have nothing to say or write, yet you still feel obligated to write or say something.  Well, I guess we are about to find out.  I get tired of talking about myself.  Nobody may believe that, but it is true.  Me, me, me.  Look at me run.  Listen to me run.  Read about me running.  I think I will try to take the focus off me for today and talk about others. 

I have lost 14 pounds in the last couple months.  7 in the last month.  I am still eating well but just cut out most of the junk.  All of the junk.  I miss salt the most.  I have found that I used so much salt in the past that going cold turkey made everything taste like nothing.  A steak tasted like a shoe.  I've never eaten a shoe but I can imagine it would be fairly tasteless.  I used to love cold, leftover steak.  Pull it out of the fridge, pour salt on it, take a bite, pour more salt on it.  Etc, etc...ad infinitum.  <<<< I like using Latin phrases and words when I can.  It makes me look more smarter, I do believe.  As in, I used to eat steak fat, pork rinds, a carton of Ding Dongs, et al.  Et al is one of favorite Latin situations.  Now, I think I remember an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies where Jethro was speaking Latin.  Here's what I remember.  Granny, "Jethro, where did all the vittles git to."  Jethro, "Dang Granny, I et em all."  I learned a lot from the shows of the sixties. 

My running seems to be getting better.  I am definitely feeling more motivated again and started setting realistic goals.  For a pretty long time, I was eating lots of food, et al, and not running in a focused manner, ad infinitum, and sitting around wondering why I wasn't getting faster and/or losing weight.  Ibid.  Goals do not reach themselves.  Motivation mostly comes from yourself.  Something has to click.  I feel that something finally clicked.  I know that when I push myself, all aspects of my life seem to get a bit better.  Under acheiving makes one feel like crap. 

I will leave everyone with this.  Oofum, Daglus, Mootanufus.  This in Latin means, You do not get stronger without getting stronger, hard work pays off over time.  The people who made up the Latin language had a way of condensing  many thoughts and words into little, concise phrases.  For example, when Caesar said, "Et tu, Brutus?", I would have said, "What the hell Brutus?  Your stabbing of me is not only leaving me in physical pain but my feelings are hurt as well.  If you really did not like me, maybe we could have sat down and had a talk.  Now, please stop stabbing me because I feel as though I could die soon."  Instead, Caesar just said, "Et tu, Brutus?"  Short, to the point, remembered for centures.  If I could do that, my posts would be about three lines of verbiage.    So, to sum and conclude, I say again,"Oofum, Daglus, Mootanufus."

"Running keeps me sane."  House Vandeweghe

The Joy of Running Isn't Automatic

Ed -

Life is made up of moments.

Those of you who've known me for awhile have probably heard me say this more than once. I don't have a clue why I latched on to that idea so early in life, but I've always believed it.  Even wrote a couple of articles for my high school newspaper on that exact subject.  Used a typewriter.  No kidding.  Sure, it was electric, but we still had a "manual" at the house I used a time or two.  No formatting or spell check.  Just banging away and hoping the ink ribbon didn't get dried out or tangled.  Those things were a pain in the butt to change.

But I digress.

Again.

Over the last couple of months I've seen a couple of moments that others experienced.  One I saw as it happened and the other I simply saw the result.  Both made an impression on me and have inspired me to take a little action.  First off to write this down, share it with you then ask you to do something that I'm going to do as well.

A little while back I signed myself and my wife up for an evening 5K fun run sort of event.  It was called the Wine Down 5K.  It was held at a winery in North Carolina and your entry fee covered the race, some cool swag, and a couple of glasses of the local wines.  As I just mentioned it was held at night.  My wife, who is not a runner, looked at the website and saw that it was a timed event.  She said she'd go but would wait for me at the finish line with her wine.  I told her it was timed, but it wasn't really a "Race" type of race.  It was for fun and no one would be taking it all that seriously.  I told her we would walk it together and just enjoy the landscape, it wound all through the vineyard and out to the Sound, I knew it would be pretty and we'd have some fun at the end.

So we went, and as I thought, it wasn't really all that serious an affair.  There were under a hundred people, and most were part of a group that did morning boot camp workouts together.  I knew a lot of folks there, but the "really fast" and "really serious" runners weren't there.  Two guys I recognized and told Debbie they would be the first ones across, but the rest were just there for fun like us.

Not true.  I was assumptive and arrogant.

For a number of people this was a big deal.  They had been focusing on it for some time and probably chose this as their first 5K because of the fact it wasn't all that big a race.  It was low key and therefore hopefully low pressure.  One lady in particular stands out to me now.

She was over weight, but there and dressed out ready to run.  I heard her talking to a couple of her friends that she referred to as "real runners" and said things like "this is so easy for you guys."  I could tell she was anxious, but her friends were telling her she'd do fine.  Since we were planning on walking the race she was right near us at the start.  Also next to us was the "sweeper."  You know, the person who follows up the runners to make sure no one gets lost or hurt and left.  I think most runs have something like that, but especially ones like this where we'd be off on some small trails in the woods.

Well, the lady looked like she had a plan when she started out jogging and then after a couple of minutes would walk.  Then jog again for a couple of minutes then walk again.  I pointed out to my wife that was a smart way to approach a long distance you haven't ever done, or are just starting out.  But even though we were just walking, we slowly gained on her as she got slower and slower.  We ended up coming along side of her just after the 1.5 mile mark.

She apologized for us having to go around her, even though that part of the course was wide enough.  We told her that was nonsense, she was doing great and told her she was half way there and would make it fine.  But I could tell she was struggling.

We looked back several times and the last couple walking behind us passed her, but the sweeper was there with a friend.  I felt like the lady would have company and encouragement so my wife and I kept on walking at our quick pace.  And every time I thought of it, I'd look back to check on the lady and she was there pushing along.

The course wound around a bit between some sunken fields that I guess they could use to flood them for something like rice that needs to pretty much grow in water, but at any rate as we got to a long wide open point I looked back and way behind us was the sweeper and her friend, but no lady.

She just wasn't there.

And if she had quit the shortest distance left to cover was to the finish.  She couldn't have gone back to the starting line to her car.  Then I remembered that at the turn around point there were people there with water and they had driven to that spot.  I figured she had called it quits and just hitched a ride with them, back in.  As we finished the race and got our stuff, my wife and I chatted with some folks I knew and went and got our wine.  I saw the Sweeper and asked her about the lady because I was feeling weird about it.

"She said she just had enough and didn't need any one's help," Sweeper told me. "Then she just went off by herself back towards the start."

"And you let her?"

"She seemed perfectly okay and just laughed it off. Plus the water folks were following her in their car."

I grabbed the race director and the lady who led the course on her bike and they went out looking for the lady.  No luck.  I hunted around and found her friends, and tentatively asked if they had heard from her.

"She texted me," one said.  "She said she couldn't finish and just wanted to go home, but we should stay and have fun.  But we're getting ready to leave right now. Thanks for asking."

Man.

I felt like crap for her.  No one should feel that defeated, embarrassed or whatever in life.  Truthfully, I have no idea what she was really feeling, but it was obvious she didn't want to be near the group of people who had finished that 5K.  Not even her friends.

My wife wished we had just stayed with her.  But how do you do that with a stranger and not embarrass them more?  I'm not sure I know the answer to that, but I wish I'd have hung back, too.

The second moment I wanted to write about was a facebook post by the little sister of a friend of mine who had just finished her first ever 5K.  I just happened to catch it on my timeline one day.  In that post she printed her time, over 51 minutes, and stated that for most people that would be a "crappy" time, but for her it was fantastic.  Her goal was to break one hour and she did it.  She had been training for a couple of months 4 days a week and that 5K was a rousing success!  Her enthusiasm and boldness in her post made me laugh and cheer while reading it.  It was incredible.

After immediately sharing it myself on my timeline, her older sister who went to high school with me, thanked me in a message for sharing it and gave me a little more back story.  Her little sister had been trying to heal up from a broken bone but hadn't had been doing all that well since she was so over weight.  Her doctor told her she needed a very specific goal to help keep her on track and out of all that came the 5K.  She stuck to the training, lost 60 pounds in the process, and finished her first ever 5K.  She proclaimed it as a major life event!

So there you have it.  5K races are probably ALWAYS a major life event for someone.  There's time spent training for it.  Time spent worrying about it.  Time spent putting pressure on a moment.  One that could be either triumphant or tragic.

A moment that many of us are around on a regular basis, but it's not our moment so we may not notice it.

So here's the action I mentioned us taking at the beginning of this:  Be a Sweeper or a Pacer.

We all have our own goals for races, even the fun runs.  Some of us have volunteered to help with races we haven't run and worked the water table or the course, or the finish line.  Those things are necessary to make a run successful.  I've been a Pacer a couple of times for friends and a stranger or two, but I've never given any thought to being a Sweeper.  Now I have.

I'm going to pick a couple of 5k's and offer to finish last.  To be the guy who hangs back with whomever to make sure they're not alone and offer encouragement.  I imagine that many folks fight the embarrassment of being last.  Or won't even enter because they worry that might happen.  I don't want anyone to feel that way.  I want to take away that stigma and alleviate that fear that can be pretty scary for many people.

Maybe I'll even get a shirt made that says, "Last Place" so it's clear what I'm there for.

"Nope, sorry.  You don't get to finish last.  That's mine."

This probably goes without saying, but when have I ever been accused of not saying enough?  This isn't a pity thing.  It's about support and encouragement.  I've benefited from it a number of times in my running career when other people were there to commiserate, push me along or even hold me back and help me maintain the right pace to avoid flaming out.

The running community is full of super caring, and encouraging people.  It's one of the things we all know, but that's because we're all ready in the community.  Let's find ways to let those folks on the outside who want to be in, see that there's nothing to be afraid of, and that there's so much here to enjoy.

I think I should be one of People Magazine's most beautiful women and not Gweneth Paltrow

As I start obsessing over what will be my 8th official half marathon, I had a thought.  It is well documented by whoever listens to me that I keep swearing off anything with the word thon in it.  I actually swore off them after my first half marathon.  My first half marathon came after my first marathon.  My first marathon was the worst experience of my life.  It took forever.  I think my time was three and a half days.  As we all know, the crowds for these events are incredible.  It seemed that all of New York was out that day in 2007.  They were all cheering for me.  At least I'm pretty sure they were.    This cheering went on for the first part of the first day.  By day two, people had kind of forgotten about me.  Day three of my marathon came and the people were getting hostile.  They wanted me out of their city.  They finally said take your medal and get out.  I did, and I swore off thons.

There is an old saying that goes something like this, "If one cannot lie to oneself, then who can one lie to?"  It is old and someone said it.  No one knows who and no one really cares.  It is one of those things that someone said around a fire or beside a river and the scribes wrote it down and it got lost in the translation over time until I found it again and put it here.  I'm bringing it back because it applies to me. I lie to myself all the time.  I keep telling myself that I am not going to run this stuff anymore and then I do.  Right now I'm mad at myself because I don't feel that I am well enough prepared to do what I want to do.  Every race I run, I want it to be faster than the last.  I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen this time.  I try and tell myself that I don't care.  That I can just run and be satisfied that I did it.  But that isn't me.  In addition, I'm just never that happy running 13.1 miles.  I am the happiest guy in the world when I'm done.  Well, about 20 minutes after I'm done, but not when I'm running.  I have moments, for sure, but it ain't every mile.  I've done enough half marathons, that I know when I'm at the starting line on Sunday, I am going to say, "what am I doing here?"  I also realize that I'm lying to myself again because I know why I do it.  Because I like a challenge.  I like to push myself.  I love the feeling when I'm done.  I say this to anyone...just running 13.1 miles is an accomplishment.  There was a time that I could barely run from telephone pole to telephone pole.  I know there are many people who can relate to that and I appreciate all the work that runners put into running.  I appreciate all the work people put into life.  It is not easy.

I have set a new goal for myself and that is to try to eat healthier.  I've rationalized long enough that I can eat what I want because I exercise a lot.  At my age, that is not the case.  It is hard to keep the weight off.  I have a goal weight in mind.  I want to make sure that I'm getting proper nutrition to ensure I keep muscle on while losing the weight I want.  I really want to see how fast this old body can go.  I do not feel I am at a plateau yet and I feel the need to really push.  I hope I have the will power to push it where I want it to go.  I would like to know, just once, that I reached some sort of potential that I have.  I love the quote by Steve Prefontaine.  "To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift."  We all have gifts, very few really appreciate them or use them to their potential.  I know I haven't.  I don't think it matters whether you are faster, stronger or smarter than someone else.  What matters is that you are as fast, strong or smart as you can be.  Wasted potential is a sad thing.  As you get older, it becomes more profound.   The feeling of lost potential.  You cannot get that time back, but, if you are lucky, you do have tomorrow.  I have tomorrow and there are some things that I want to do.

In conclusion, my concentration has been ruined by Jeopardy.  It is on, and I am trying to finish this and answer questions to Trebek.  If I were on that show, the realization has hit me that he would say, "Nourse, stick to running and lifting weights."  I'm okay with that.