Alameda Runners – Get After It!

I was supposed to go out for a 20 mile training run today but I decided to go take some pictures at Rocky Ridge for Brazen Racing.  The cool thing about Brazen is, all of the pictures are uploaded to Picasa and are available for download for free.  We are not professional photographers with the snazzy equipment but we do okay.  The photo album can be found here.

You may ask yourself, “Why would an Alamedarunner skip his long run to go take pictures at a trail race”?  The answer is simple, to be social.  Trail running is generally more social than road racing.  Road racing can be fast while trail running is a bit slower and hillier.  Going uphill is hard on everything.  Walking uphill can be a serious challenge to the legs but your breathing is good enough to talk.  Going downhill can be dangerous so people slow down and chat.  All of this leads to a community atmosphere.  Sam and Jasmin, the event organizers, are very friendly too.  All of this creates an atmosphere where people want to be.  The volunteers are usually people like me, who are training for something else, family members or friends.  I was out with my friends, taking pictures of my friends.  My wife and son went out to volunteer as well.

I went up to the top of a big hill of about 1800 feet, to get some pictures with a nice view.  One advantage of taking pictures on top of a hill is that everyone gets spread out.  When people are spread out, I get to try more things with the camera.  Unfortunately for the half marathon runners, they had over 3,500 feet of climbing on their legs when they got to me.  I got a lot of good pictures from the top of that hill.  It is always great when people stop to pose for the photographer.

This was a hard race for every distance.  It was hard on the volunteers who were out on the course.  Do you ever wonder how the volunteers make it to the top of a big hill to set up an aid station?  The lucky ones get there stuff delivered for them.  Many volunteers put the water, table and other supplies in wagons and haul it to the aid station.  They also send a volunteer out on the course with trash bag to pick up the cups that get thrown around.  Most trail runners hit the trash cans or come really close to hitting the trash bin but we always have to check.  The runners frequently stop to pick up the trash that others drop.

If you want to run in a friendly event, try a trail run.  Even the type “A” racers lighten up a bit for the trail runs.

I say in one line to run at your own pace, then I say find a training partner.  What is Ted thinking?  Ted is thinking about how great training partners are.  When I do my long runs, I pick places where there are a lot of people out and about.  People help me pass the time for my long runs.  I often pick up running partners along the trails.  When I am out for a long run of longer than 2 hours, my heart rate has a range from 120-130.  It is easy to adjust to someone else’s pace if they are close.  Most people enjoy company on a long run.  30 minutes of company is a great way to break up the monotony of the long slow run.

If you are out for a long fast walk, partners are especially good.  Long walks create pain in unexpected places.  If you are alone, the pain can get overwhelming and the temptation for Starbucks and bagels can win the day.  When you have company, the time seems to fly by.

When you do speed work, partners can help you find the next level in your training.  Our brains are amazing things.  We can go to a track alone and find that our max heart rate is 171 bpm.  We can go to that same track, with someone who is a little bit faster, and find that our max heart rate is 175 bpm.  When you find that extra little something, it stays with you for a while.  Find yourself a training partner or running group and be social about running.  Exercise is not about punishing yourself.  It is about being fit and having fun.  Just be careful that you do not try to keep up with the speedy group who has been at it a lot longer than you have.

Be social and have fun.

Not feeling well means different things to different people.  Some people look for an excuse to get out of work while others try to run with a fractured foot saying “it’s not too bad”.  I am not a doctor, so I won’t give out medical advice.  Personally, I don’t get sick very often.  If I get the sniffles or a cold, I continue to run but I cut back on the intensity.  If I have flu like symptoms or my head feels foggy, I will rest.

When I say not feeling well, I am talking about how your body feels.  Most people train for a goal.  That goal comes with a plan.  There is something about having a goal that people want to exceed.  People of all levels tend to overdo it.  Fortunately, we get warning signs from our bodies that we need more rest.  Unfortunately, we rarely listen to them.
A few big warning signs are:

• Dead legs when you wake up
• Running out of energy in the middle of a run
• Not wanting to run
• Feeling dizzy
• Appetite changes – An increased appetite is good.  Not wanting to eat or drink after a run is bad
• Sharp or stabbing pain on your muscles
• Joint pain

The above are all things that happened to me one or more times.  I usually get these symptoms from over training.  If you get these symptoms, it is probably time to rest.

It sounds like such a simple thing to train at your own pace.  It is not as easy as it sounds.  There is something about watching someone else perform that makes us want to do it too.  We tell ourselves “I can do that”, we may be able to do that with proper training but it is very difficult to jump right into anything and equal someone who has been doing it for years.  Social media has made it worse.  We all see the times that people post online with no warnings about how long they have been running.  When we go out and run with a run club, we can see the physical differences between the high end runners and the normal runners.  It is easier to accept “them” as being faster.  A picture may say 1,000 words but it still does not match reality.

Pay attention to your body.  Take it easy and build up slowly.  When you build up your mileage and speed, look at other peoples training plans.  Do not emulate the elite people.  Most of us will never run a 5 minute mile and we should not strive to accomplish that goal unless we train for it.  The harder you train, the higher your probability for injury.

There is something about running that brings out the competitive spirit in us.  We want to run a little bit faster than we did the day before.  It is hard for us to accept the fact that taking it easy is good.  Our bodies need to rest to recover.   Cycling gives our body’s time to rest.  Our bodies use different muscles for different exercises; we cycle our workout routines to use more of the muscle groups that we will rely on for the long distance event.
Cycling a workout plan consists of a set of goals.  Our goals are all different and we have to plan our own.  I will give you my goals and my plan to achieve them.
Goal number 1 – Live a long, healthy and happy life.  I lived pretty long.  I am healthy and I am very happy.  All of the rest of my goals are to help me achieve goal number 1.
Pick 2 events per year to keep me focused.  1 event will work but I like two.
This year, I picked the Vineman half ironman triathlon in July and the Sacramento marathon in December.
Set a plan to achieve these goals.  The Vineman triathlon was on July 17.  On January 1, I was in shape to accomplish each event individually.  My goal was to put them all together.  My big cycle to complete the Vineman looked something like this:
January and February – build strength while maintaining event distance endurance.

• Week 1 – (10 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 2 – (12 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it, lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for 2-3 hours.
• Week 3 – (13 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike Saturday; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 4 – (10 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 5 – (13 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 26 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 6 – (12 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for 2-3 hours.
• Week 7 – (14 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike Saturday; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.
• Week 8 – (10 hours) Swim 4 miles, run 20 miles, bike when I felt like it; lift weights for 3 hours and cross train for an hour.

This is the time of year when I make my choices.  If I want to be strong for the triathlon, I will follow the above pattern to give me a strong core and body.  I can easily take 5 hours per week of the training plan and still finish the triathlon.  It is all matter of how strong I want to be at the finish.

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I have been waiting for the Finis Swimsense to come out since it was announced and I was not disappointed.  It is pretty hard to get an accurate distance tracker that straps onto your arm for swimming.  I tried a couple of GPS style swim monitors with poor results.  The Swimsense works with a better than 98% accuracy rate for me.  I usually swim about 2,000 yards and the Swimsense will add or subtract 25 yards to my total distance.  I am not too concerned about the difference between 1,950 and 2,000 yards for my morning swim.  I just like the idea of only having to watch the clock on the wall and not count laps when I am doing a morning workout.  The Swimsense will let me know if I went a different distance for my swim duration.

Options for you guys who like the bling
Motion detector – Distinguishes between strokes and senses distance
Storage – Records time, distance, pace times, laps, strokes and calories burned
Analyze Workouts – Review distance, splits, laps, pace times, stroke count; stroke rate, distance-per-stroke and calories burned. View your current workout and up to 14 past workouts on the monitor.
Software Training Log – Upload workouts to the Training Log to review all past performances and track progress at Swimsense.com
Swimsense Dock – Connect to your computer and charge the battery
Upload workouts – For you Dailymile and Facebook guys out there.  You can chat about your workouts and analyze them with the history.
PRO’s:

• It works
• It is easy to use
• It is pretty accurate
• The battery charges quickly
• Light weight
• Docking station

CON’s:

• The battery dies quickly
• I can’t get the software to work on my computer
• The swim options are only for pools
• Not as accurate as a GPS
• Gets flaky when you do IM sets
• Back light does odd things (operator error)

The bottom line – I like the Swimsense.  A lot of my swims are tempo swims where I get out and swim 1 or 2 miles.  These are pretty mindless swims where I just get out and do it.  I check the watch at approximately 30 minute intervals to check my distance.  If I miss my target of 2 miles by 200 yards either way, it won’t make a difference to me.  I can wear my XTREAMP3, turn off my brain and just go.  I don’t have to worry about counting laps.  The battery life is terrible but I can charge it up enough for a 45 minute swim during my 10 minute commute to the pool with my car charger.  I can see the buttons well enough to start the timer in low light conditions.  The $200 price tag is a bit steep but it is well worth the $150 you can pick it up for at Amazon.

A couple pairs of injinji toesocks showed up at my door a few weeks ago.  I looked at them with some dismay as I knew Mike, the other Alameda runner was in Pennsylvania and it would be up to me to try them out.  When a runner sees an odd looking sock, we automatically think blisters.  The socks are odd looking because they have finger sleeves or pockets for your toes.

Fearing blisters, I tried the socks on to wear around the house for a few hours.  It took me a minute to get my toes into the correct toe slots.  It reminded me of putting finger gloves on a 2 year old.  After I got the socks on, I had this weird sensation between my toes.  It felt odd because I am not used to things between my toes.  After a few minutes the sensation went away and the socks became comfortable.  I really liked the way they felt.

Okay, I like these socks, time for a run.  I tried the socks out on a 4 mile run for my first try.  I really liked them.  I quickly built them up to 13 miles and picked a moderately hilly half marathon for my first try with the injinji socks on.  I do a lot of trail half marathons and always get blisters.  I picked a small race with just under 2,000 feet of climbing.  I don’t get blisters from going up the hills.  I get them from going down the hills.  I did not get a blister when running the half marathon!  I really like these socks a lot.  In fact they are my favorite socks for my long runs.

You may ask why they are my favorite socks for long runs and not my favorite socks.  The reason I don’t wear them for my short runs is because I run at lunch.  It takes an extra minute to get my toes separated and into the socks.  When I am on a tight schedule, every second counts.  It is well worth the extra seconds when I am going on a long run.  Today I went on a long run of 16+ miles and I started off with wet toes because I stepped into a puddle before I put my shoes on.  I ran with no problems.

Sock facts: (New term to be trade marked by alamedarunners)
Toe slots – The socks have slots to separate your toes.  Not only does this feel good, it has a practical purpose too.  The toe slots help prevent chaffing and blisters.
Metatarsal stretch bands – The bands go all the way around your foot near the front of the arch.  These bands keep the sock snug around the front of the foot to prevent sliding and bunching.
Heel box – This is a sneaky stretch material that we I could barely notice.  I don’t know how they do it but keeps the sock snug to the heel.
Ankle band – The ankle band is snug too.  The sock does not move around the top.
Snug package – All of the details put together make this a complete sock.  Toe slots, snug metatarsal area, form fitted snug heel and snug ankle area keep the sock from moving around under any conditions.

The price may seem to be a little stiff at $10 to $16 per pair, depending on the style you choose.  My favorite, the Performance Midweight Mini-crew goes for $16.  Good running socks are in this range, mostly at the lower end but the socks do last a long time and they will outlive a few pair of running shoes.

I love my injinji running socks.  I wear them for all long runs.  I wish I could put them on a bit faster so I could wear them for triathlons.  Perhaps I could speed up the process with practice but I have enough to worry about during a triathlon transition.  Try these socks out.  You will not regret it.

*Ted’s disclaimer – I have no obligation to say anything good or bad about any product on my site.  I call it like I see it.  If I feel something is worth trying, I will say so.  I pay for something that is a dud, I will say so.  I do not plan on giving up my career in engineering for one in marketing.  My comments about the socks are my observations from wearing the socks and looking at them while writing the article.

Today 10/1/11, I went out for a long slow training run.  To show that I practice what I preach I will talk about my run and the things from my list of 13 plus 1.

Rule 1 – I did it.

Rule 2 – I went nice and slow today with all of my emphasis on cruise.  I followed my heart rate monitor and slowed down every time my heart rate hit 130.

Rule 3 – I ran 13 miles last week in a race.  This week, I ran 16.6 miles at a long slow pace.  I planned on running 16 miles but my loop worked out a little long.  I could have shortened the run to exactly 16 miles but that would have caused me to run around the block a few times and I don’t like doing that.

Rule 4 – I started out my day with a dose of Ted’s terrific pancakes.

Rule 5 – I ran by heart rate, not time

Rules 7&9 – I was running at the upper middle of my planned zone when I passed someone in the lower end of my planned zone.  We ran together for a couple of miles then parted ways.  The section of the run with company went by a lot faster than the sections alone.

Rule 10 – When I was within 2 miles of finishing my run, I kept eating and drinking to practice when the runs get longer.

Today was a terrific day for a long run.  I ran by a couple of local runners who enter half marathons with the intention of winning.  It is neat to watch them train.  They don’t really do long slow runs.  They do 15-20 miles of speed work on Saturdays.  I found a running partner for a little while.  I live in Alameda where the weather and views are awesome.  On my way back home, I stopped to do some aerobic exercises with someone on the water front.

While I was running, I could feel my inner quads getting tired.  As soon as I stopped, my calves started to hurt.  It is amazing how many little muscles we have in our legs that can cause pain.

Today’s total

16.62 miles

2:50:09 time

10:14 pace

126 average heart rate

1983 calories burned

I hope I am doing everything right.  My training plan is for a 4 hour marathon.  I know my knees will give out somewhere around mile 20.  My goal is to prolong the crash until around mile 24.

When you go out for a long run, it is so easy to get caught up with looking at the clock.  It is in a distance runner’s nature to want to go faster.  I don’t know if that is a fact or not but it seems that way with everyone that I know.  We look at our watch and see that we are running at an 8:05 pace and just have to speed up to a 7:58 pace.  It just looks better to have that lower number next to our run time in our training logs that only we look at.  When you are sprinting, that is a different matter.  Go for max speed on your sprints.

When I do my long runs, I run for the first mile or so at a warm-up pace, then I start paying attention to my heart rate.  I don’t look at my watch for the first mile.  I use this as my gauge to see how I will feel for the run.  As I discussed earlier, a heart rate of 119 is mathematically ideal for my long slow run pace.  Since humans are not mathematical formulas, I use this as a gauge, not a rule.  I try to keep my heart rate between 119 and 127 for my long slow runs and let the minutes per mile fall where they may.  The first 3-4 miles are where I fall into my groove for the run.  After the first few miles, I have the pace set and I don’t have to worry about much until the last few miles.  Since I know all of the routes to my house, I suffer from the “old horse syndrome” where I want to charge back to the barn as quickly as possible.  I keep a close eye on my HRM as I know I do this on long runs.  The bad thing about charging back to barn on a long run is that you are usually a longer distance than you usually run and are prone injuries at this point.

The key rule for long runs – Take it easy

I write about nutrition a lot.  Type “nutrition” into the search bar and you will find a few pages of blogs related to nutrition.  Nutrition is a big deal that is important to our everyday lives.  When you are out training for a long time, you can crash hard if you do not consume enough of the proper food.  I can’t tell you how many different ways I have found to mess up my nutritional intake.  Sadly, I continue to find new ways to mess up.

Proper nutrition starts early

When you are planning to do a long workout of longer than 2 hours, you should limit your intake of food that digests slowly the day before your workout.  I am not talking about whole grain foods here.  I am talking about the calorie bombs from Carl’s Junior like a ½ pound burger with bacon and guacamole.  Things like that stay in your system for days and don’t really help the digestive tract very much.  Eat healthy foods that are high in fiber and are light in nature.  Things like jello, tuna sandwiches and lots of fruit and vegetables.  I grow my own tomatoes and eat them for most of the summer and fall.  It is also good to drink lots of fluids the day before a long run.  I tend to drink 2-6 quarts of water per day.

 Before the big workout

I like to eat an hour or two before I go for a long run.  My favorite is Ted’s terrific pancakes with real maple syrup.  When it is warm out, I add more salt according to the temperature.  The warmer it is, the more salt I add.  I also like old fashioned oat meal made with milk and real maple syrup added as a sweetener.  Again, the salt level goes up depending on the temperature.  Sometimes, I will eat a breakfast food 2 or 3 hours before the run and something like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right before I leave for the run.  I did a lot of research on pre-workout nutrition to come out with the same answer from all of them.  That is to try different things to find what works for you.  If you search my articles and reviews, you will find stuff that works for me.

During the run

Long runs can tear you up.  Make sure you carry some type of nutrition and some type of electrolyte.  The experts say all kinds of conflicting things about hydration and nutrition.  I do know that we are all different and we have to find what works for us.  To make things confusing, different things work on different days.  I like both Clif and Gu.  They are both local companies that are very nice to the local runners.  I tend to lean toward Clif because they are so cool.  One day, I can run and the Gu gels work great for me.  I can switch between flavors and types (rocatane and regular) and love the way they go down.  The next day, I can run and choke on the Gu gel while the Clif goes right down with no problems.  Other days, neither will work and I will eat peanuts and candy.
On a course with a lot of water stops, I will carry an electrolyte drink.  I like the Gu and Clif electrolyte drinks but I am currently using Gatorade because I got a huge can on sale.  It does not taste as good or go down as well but living in the San Francisco bay area is expensive and I have to watch my expenses when I can.  If you are ever out on a run and start getting a strong dislike for the thought of water, you should stop and consume any type of electrolyte or salt you can get your hands on.  Do not press on until you get some salt in your body.  Bad things can happen.

Post workout

The first thing I do after a long workout is to spend 2-5 minutes stretching.  I do not try to reach or stretch my muscles.  I lean in different directions with no pushing at all.  I do the standard legs shoulder width apart lean over and relax with knees straight and bent and a couple of other easy stretches.  Then I drink some water and an electrolyte based recovery drink.  If my stomach is up for the challenge, I will drink a protein shake before I take a shower.  I will drink something like Muscle milk or a Clif recovery shot mixed in chocolate milk.  I have been known to just drink an electrolyte drink, shower and sleep then eat after my nap.  I know it is not right but that is what my body will tolerate.  Eating something that is good for then getting sick is not very good.  I seem to eat a lot of sandwiches with a bowl of chicken noodle soup after long runs because that is what my sub conscious wants.  Try different things to find what works for you.  Electrolytes are good to replace the minerals you lost through sweat.  Protein shakes are good to help build up the muscles you just broke down.