Sore Morning

I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee this morning wondering how I can be sooooo sore. It's like I spent a day in the gym lifting weights! My back, quads and shoulders are screaming at me today. No - I'm not getting a cold or flu. The pain I'm feeling today is that "good" pain. As in the "no pain no gain" type of pain. I'm just wondering why. Yesterday's run was kind of normal. Nine mile aerobic run on my now normal Corona del Mar to Crystal Cove route.


I ran by heart rate. When I got back and checked my data - heart rate looked fine - 81% of max. But I noticed that my pace was 30 seconds slower than Tuesday's pace on the same route- 10:16 versus 9:45. Hmm. Let's see here. Fast on Tuesday. Heart rate running away on Wednesday. Slow on Thursday. Sore on Friday. I'm glad today is a rest day!

Here's what I think is happening. I'm exercising at a rate that it foreign to my body. Perhaps even pushing a little too hard. Three out of the last four months have been 140 miles or more, and the one month that didn't hit 140 was 136. Right now I'm clipping along at a 180 mile pace for this month. Last week's 43 miles burned about 6000 calories. This week's 44 miles will do the same. I've dropped about 3 pounds in the last two weeks. That pretty much means that I'm not even close to putting back in what I'm using. If I do this too long I'll break. It's still early in this training cycle. I think it's time to slow down a little. Run my recovery and general aerobic runs at a little lower heart rate for a couple of weeks.

When I think about where I was just a few months ago, it is really amazing what this old fart can do. It just sucks getting old!

The Slower I Went, the Faster it Got

I had a very interesting problem yesterday - one that I don't think I've seen before. I was out for a five mile recovery run. I have my Garmin programmed to chirp me if my heart rate leaves "Zone 2" (65% to 75% of max heart rate) when on a recovery workout. Normally, when I hear the chirp, I'll slow down and I'll hear another chirp letting me know my heart rate has dropped back into the desired range. Well, yesterday I had trouble with that second chirp.

The run started out fine. Mile 1 in 9:45 in the target heart range. Then a chirp. I slowed down. Chirp? Where are you? I slowed down more. Listening... I finally dropped to a walk. Ah there it was. Back into my target zone. Time to pick it up a little again. Huh? Chirp? What the?

Well, you get the idea. This was a tough "run". I put "run" in quotes because at times I had to resort to a brisk walk to keep my heart rate in recovery range. My splits show my struggle: 9:44, 10:17, 10:34, 10:59, 11:17. And my average heart rate over the five miles was still above the target - 77% of max. Wow. Tough day. Oh well - every run can't be the best one I've ever run.

Oh - after several weeks of absenteeism - I finally made it to the gym. It actually felt good to get in a good stretch and some planks and crunches.

Today I'll be out for a nine mile GA run. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Feeling Tired

I'm feeling pretty tired today. But then maybe if I didn't stay up until 12:30 playing poker I wouldn't be so tired! Why am I bringing up poker? Because, believe it or not, there are a lot of similarities between running and poker.

Yesterday for example - I made the final table of an online tournament. I got there by taking a few calculated risks along the way, but mostly by outlasting my opponents. I made it by maintaining my concentration through hand after hand after hand. As I was sitting there yawning, I couldn't help but think about how much like marathon training this was. Each day I play an hour or two. I follow my play plan. Even when the cards my tempt me to deviate. Sometimes I make a few bucks. Other times I lose a couple. Each day I run an hour or two. I follow my training plan. Even when my mind or body tempt me to deviate. Sometimes I feel like I've accomplished something. Other times I don't.

But the bottom line is I put in the time to get better. Both on the trails and the poker table. Day after day I see the same scenery and the same lousy cards. Why do I do it? Because every now and then there's a seat at a final table that most players won't get to. And because every now and then there's a finish line that most people won't get to.

Oh - yesterday's run? Just a boring nine miles. Average pace 9:45. Average heart rate 80% of max. As hard as I try, sometimes I just can't keep things fresh. Speaking of which - on tap today - five recovery miles.

Building Some More Miles

After Sunday's 15 miler, yesterday's rest day was a welcome respite. Last week wrapped up right on plan. 43 miles running, 6.2 kilometers on the erg. I'm now in a new realm. 43 miles a week and growing. I am beginning to understand the real importance of rest and recovery. It's pretty amazing to think about where I was two short years ago (answer: on the couch watching TV thinking about doing something to get in shape).

This week is the last week in the endurance phase of my training plan. On the plan this week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 9 miles GA, wrap with 10 X 100 stride outs
Wednesday: 5 mile recovery, some time in the gym
Thursday: 9 miles GA
Friday: Rest.
Saturday: 16 mile long run
Sunday: 5 mile recovery

Total plan: 44 miles

Beginning next week I get to stress my body a little more by adding some lactate threshold training. Woo hoo! In my last training cycle, LT training did more to improve my speed than anything else. Pfitzinger must agree, because according to him, this is the most important phase of training. I glanced ahead and expected to see tempo runs. But, I see a lot of training at Half Marathon Pace, Marathon Pace, and on the track. Looks like I'll be spending some time in the books to understand how these pace runs and intervals are helping my LT!

I'll be down at Crystal Cove today for my 9 mile general aerobic run!

A Photo Tour - Shady Canyon

Unlike Saturday - I did get out for my 15 mile run yesterday (yeah!). I needed to freshen things up a bit, so I decided to try a new route. What I found was a bit of a hilly challenge, but one of the prettiest runs I've been on in quite a while. I though I would spend today's blog giving you all a little tour. (And - Easterners - note how green everything is here in Southern California!)

I started the run at Bonita Canyon Park, about a mile from home. It's a relatively new park built primarily for youth sports:

I took off to the east along the back of the University of California, Irvine, one of the rising stars in the UC system. One of the reasons for this is they have been able to attract faculty by supplying housing. Here's a picture of some of those homes. If these were offered to the public in this area, they would sell for at least $850,000:


Next, we pass our version of "Bible Mile". Within a mile are the Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Newport Beach Temple:


St. Matthews Anglican Church:


The non denominational Mariners Christian Church:

And Tarbut V'Torah Community Day School:


You get the idea about what it's like living in a Master Planned Community. Just past the school, I made a right and started up the hill into a neighborhood called Shady Canyon. For all the years I've lived here, I've never been through this neighborhood. Shady Canyon is a pretty exclusive community (a lot of pro athletes live here -Mark McGwire had a home here, an bunch of ex-major leaguers and a number of Anaheim Ducks hockey players also live here). I always thought that I wouldn't be able to make it past the gates. Well, in the infinite wisdom of the community planners, it turns out the trails through Shady Canyon are open to the public.

What awaited me was a very scenic, albeit hilly run. The views were pretty amazing throughout the community:



You can bet those homes way up there on that ridge cost a pretty penny (upwards of $5 million):


I headed on down to the 7 and a half mile turnaround point, turned around, and headed back up the hill:


But, I had to stop and refuel. Somewhere along the way, the sun had come out and the heat was on! By 9 miles I had gone through 40 ounces of water. I stopped in this park to refill and grab a Clif bar and a Gu (Espresso Love - yum!):

Another 5 and a half miles put me back at Bonita Canyon. 15 miles total in a slow 2:45 (11:01 average pace). Average heart rate was 77% of max. The two "H"s conspired against me - hills and heat. But - it was a great little route - one I will definitely do again soon!

Karma?

Yesterday was a pretty interesting day, as far as running went. I had a 15 mile run on the plan. I headed out the door just like clockwork to meet up with the group at 7AM at the local (Corona del Mar) High School. Imagine my surprise when I get there to find there is no parking. None. The lot was completely full. Turns out there was a big Summer Swim League meet going on yesterday. So, not being able to find a parking spot meant that I wasn't going to be able to change after my run (remember my past blogs about my ability to perspire?). So - it was back home to pick up a towel. In the meantime, I also thought that it would kind of be nice to run somewhere other than my normal trails. What about a run along the beach?

Now another thing about my Saturday morning run - normally I take my wife's car. The dealer we bought it from offers free car washes for customers. The dealer is an easy drive from CdM, so after my normal morning run, I normally take the short drive over and get her car washed. Of course, the complimentary Starbucks is also nice. But, since I was no longer going to be running from CdM, I decided that I should also change cars. Long story short - I forgot to transfer my fuel belt and water! And I wasn't going to do 15 miles without that. So - back home.

By the time I got back home (for the second time), I thought "Maybe the running Gods are trying to tell me something." Time was now starting to become a factor. It was getting close to 8 AM. Even though it was cloudy and overcast, this time of year the sun generally breaks out by 9AM. The thought of getting caught out in the humid heat did not sound appealing, so I decided to throw in the towel. Since I am a firm believer of discretion being the better part of valor, I decided to swap Saturday and Sunday workouts.

So, about 6:30 PM I headed out for a quick 4 mile recovery run - Sunday's planned run. I got to Crystal Cove, got my gear on, and turned the Garmin on. Guess what? "Batteries are Low Sucker!" Guess it was good I didn't get out for my 15 miler after all!

On tap today - ummmm - 15 miles. I'm out the door soon....

Running Aerobically

I thought I would stay in theme today. The past couple of days I talked about the importance of the slow run. Since I had a general aerobic run on the plan yesterday, I thought I would talk about that today. A general aerobic (GA) run is a little faster than a slow run. Not slow. Not fast. Just kind of half fast (cmon - say it quickly).

Honestly - how fast is "general aerobic"? To answer this we need to understand lactate threshold first. Lactate threshold (LT) is defined as the maximum pace you can run non-stop for one hour. It's usually right around your 10K race pace. So, the answer is somewhere between slow conversational pace and 10K pace. For those of us with heart rate monitors, this correlates to somewhere between 70% and 85% of max heart rate. The key to running aerobically is staying out of lactate threshold - above that pace your body will start accumulating acid that contributes to fatigue. Run at LT pace, and you will need to spend an extra day recovering.

The general aerobic run should form the foundation of your training program. These are the runs that build your overall fitness. They serve to help strengthen your leg muscles and improve your body's ability to transport oxygen from lungs to muscles. A typical training plan would include one day doing some speed work (intervals, tempo, etc.) and one long run day. Those constitute your "hard" workout days. The rest of your time is spent either in recovery or general aerobic range.

The last issue is the distance of a general aerobic run. According to the books, the distance can be anywhere between 3 and 10 miles. That's quite a range! Once again - the key is to make sure that you can handle the distance without stressing your body. These days, I have a little line that I use to determine whether a run should be a general aerobic run or a long/medium log run. Right now, that's right around 12 miles. Below 12 miles, I treat the run like a GA run and step the pace up a bit. Beyond 12 miles, I drop the pace and treat the run more like a long run. I find that right around 12 miles, my heart rate increases quickly, and to stay within the GA range, I need to start slowing my pace.

By the way, I think the best discussion of this can be found in the Competitive Runner's Handbook by Glover.

So, last night, I put in 9 1/2 miles. My average heart rate was 80% of max - so I managed to keep things aerobic. On tap today - rest. No rowing. No running. Just rest. Saturday - 15 miles. Things are starting to lengthen out - that's for sure.