Turning it up to 11

Thank you Nigel.

Indeed, here we are at week 11, and it was a good week on the road to 26.2. First of all, on Tuesday I played around with some more barefoot running, doing ¾ mile on astroturf sans zapatos, and then did another ¼ mile on the actual hard rubber track. I even sprinted at the end. I tried on and then ordered some Vibram 5 Fingers this week, and think I have come to the decision to focus on seriously building my barefoot run after the marathon. I'll keep you all posted on that.

Wednesday was a good eight miler, but I thought my new Nike+ was hitting blind spots. After my long weekend run though, I think I know what's really going on. See, the Nike+ really just works on a gyro in the sensor- no map or GPS data at all. When you buy it, there's an option to calibrate it, but it says it works for most people. In my test runs it seemed pretty good so I didn't calibrate. I realize now it is slightly off, and what's happening is that small disparity gets exponentially bigger with longer distances. Anything under four is not enough of a loss to be noticeable- eight was nearly a half mile off, and Saturday's long run was over a mile off. Not a big deal, I just need to calibrate it this week. Though, there may be something to be said for thinking I only ran a shorter distance when I really did a longer...

Thursday was neat. Ran two miles with someone from work in the afternoon, then came home and did two and a half miles with Eightball. Did some more sprinting with him, but found out he gets tired around two if I let him do that too much. He too needs to learn to pace himself for distance runs. Plus, we at times have to stop and pick up poo. (Told you I would.)

On the weekend, I was back with my triathlete mentor from week five. As always I end up doing a faster pace with him, but we cut a mean 17 in 2:35. Now, Nike+ read me at 15.7, but the $600 GPS the people who do triathlons feel they need put us near 17. Either way, though it was work at the end, I came out of it with only a little soreness, and feel pretty good the next day. Again, these runs seem to go faster with a partner to talk to. He also mentioned that with the type of miles I am doing weekly, I can drink four pints of Guinness a week completely guilt free- my body will absorb the carbs like a sponge. If someone had told me that ten years ago, I'd be Jesse Owens by now.

Did some tweaking on my training schedule. The Higdon plan I have been following is 18 weeks long, and my race actually falls in week 16. I want to make sure I have a couple of weeks taper before the big run (that's the slowdown that lets your body recover before it all counts). Therefore, I am going for 18 miles this coming Saturday, and 20 the weekend after that. It's going to be a little more of a challenge, but I am feeling up to it. The injuries are quiet, the feet are behaving, and the vibe is good. Lost Dutchman Marathon, here I come!

Now, pardon me while I finish off this Guinness. Yep, that's a good vibe all right...

Primal urges in Week 10.

The prey is fast, but only in short bursts. The primitive man runs along behind the gazelle, following relentlessly, knowing he only has to hold out. The gazelle is away from its herd; it can't circle back, and makes the mistake of continuing to sprint away from the man, then stop to see if he follows.

He does.

He is not alone though. There is also the wolf- the one who had crept quietly into the light of the fire one night, hungry and drawn by the smell of cooking meat. It stayed with the man and his family, and would now help the man when he hunted- driving the prey forward as the man kept his pace. The wolf did not understand how the man did it, but if he just ran alongside they would eat. The wolf began to creep ahead, increasing its pace.

The growl from the man held it back. The wolf stayed with him. Again the gazelle stopped, looking to see if the pursuing pair were gone.

Inexorably, step after step, they continued.

They just had to run far enough. The gazelle would eventually tire. Yes- the gazelle was faster than both of them at a dead run, but over a distance? Over a distance the man and wolf would run the gazelle to death.

Just a few more miles...

Yeah. I admit it. That was the fantasy running through my head this week when I would run with my dog Eightball. He's not on the huge runs with me yet, but we're doing about three miles together now, and he seems to really love it. He's not always as disciplined a running partner as I would like...! He is learning though.

Now, the scenario above may not be fantasy at all. Professor Daniel Lieberman proposes that running is what keyed human evolution, and it was the primary advantage for we land primates to catch protein when we hadn't yet created the spear. OK- the wolf part may be fantasy, but it's my head, right? I just find it a fascinating idea that the human machine really was built for running, and that there may be a very specific reason our marathons are around 26 miles (the average distance at which a gazelle or similar bovidae would become too weak to escape and fall).

So how did we cavemen do this week? Good actually! You may recall I was worried about an injury last week in my shin. I really toyed with taking the week off, but dagnabbit, I really wanted to run! So I did add one extra day, so instead of my mid week runs being T/W/T, I started Wednesday. Did a nice easy one on Wednesday to test the waters, and then seven miles New Years Eve. On New Years Day, I ran with the dog AND the Boy (during which he learned several months of computer games and a desk job are not good for your run), but then held out for Sunday for the next big one. Started out about eight in the morning Sunday (Eightball stayed with the lovely Jennifer) and did 15 miles.

Yes, it hurt. Not injury hurt though- didn't feel that at all (though pressing the gas pedal tries to tweak it- looks like I will be picking a speed and holding it!). Instead, it was the heartily earned aches that go with a good run. Did 15 miles, and it was a good run. Next day, still feel that I worked them, but I'm not hobbled at all.

Makes Kor want to look for those Gazelles...

Week Nine- Santa kicks my butt.

Yikes, this was a tough week. You know what happens at Christmas time? We eat. We eat a lot. Everyone cooks and bakes and there's food everywhere and you don't want to waste it and what can one more cookie do bad for you anyway...

It can feel like bricks in your butt when you are trying to run ten miles.

That's right folks, this week, my long run was only ten, and I swear it hurt more than my 13. If you look back you will see I know my diet is a deciding factor in how I run. I ate badly anyway. You will see I know what it's like to find my pace- that if I am working too hard I am doing it wrong. I had no choice- anything over a walk was work.

I now know what it means to need to detox, not from the evils of drink mind you, but from too many cookies and pies and delicious fudge and bourbon balls. Yikes.

Then, I also seem to have tweaked a muscle in the front of my left shin. Most aches go away after the body warms up in a mile or so and I feel better. This one just gnawed at me for ten miles. Trying to rest it before my Tuesday Week 10 run, but I might have to take it easy into the New Year. Not sure how that will affect my plans to do the full marathon in February. I might be back to the half then and the full in May.

Now, two pieces of good news. My darling wife the Lovely Jennifer slipped the Nike+ iPod attachment into my stocking, so I now get complete instant feedback on distance, pace, and time while digging my mix of tunes. For the price, it's really a handy tool.

Secondly, our new family dog, Eighball, is a runner. I have him doing up to two miles at a time with me, and frankly I think he wants to do more. He keeps looking at my like I am a panzy when we stop. He loves it, but has a tendency to make me go a little faster than I necessarily want to. We'll try two and a half miles when I run again!

So, a mixed bag week, possibly leading into a rest week, much as I would hate to. Runners beware that guy in the red suit- he's no good for you!



See?

Week eight- This is a Fluke...

What is not a fluke however is the fact I managed to do another 13+ run on Saturday! Now, in the interest of full disclosure let me also mention it hurt like hell.

We'll get back to that though. As the week started, I again wanted to avoid the early morning cold, so I did my Tuesday run in the afternoon on a track. Though the track part itself is not the most scenic of run paths, the path encircles a brand new astroturf field. I mentioned last week I had done a little bit of barefoot on it, and this week, I did a bit more. I noticed when my feet started getting used to it, my toes splay like little antennas looking for the best way to land. Then, when I was done and put my shoes back on, it was like my feet could feel every thread and seam in my socks. I really want to do more of this in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday I did get up early and did six miles. Good steady run, no major issues or epiphanies to report. I was a bum on Thursday and allowed events to overcome running that day, but also wanted to rest up a bit before the big run I had planned for Saturday.

Those of you who are familiar with Sierra Vista- my usual running area is the loop formed from Buffalo Soldier Trail, Avenida Cochise (by the sMall) and Highway 92. Starting near Coronado and Avenida Cochise, most of it has a really nice multi-use path around it, and a full loop is just a smidge over six miles. I have worked out little addendums (most of which you can find charted on www.mapmyrun.com under username fb.DaniF.734) to get the odd distances. Last week, My 13+ was a six mile loop with the seven mile loop and little loop combo. This week, I decided I wasn't going to go over the same ground twice.

Starting at Gas City on Buffalo Soldier Trail, I circled Sierra Vista (BST to 92, 92 to the Fry/92/90 intersection, up the bypass to the East Gate of Fort Huachuca, then back down BST to Gas City). According to the aforementioned Map My Run site, that's 13.44 miles. What the site didn't tell me is that it's a tough damn route!

I've obviously driven all these roads, but in the safety and convenience of a lovely car like Helena, you don't notice certain hills, or which way the wind blows, or where there are shoulders on the road or not. You just drive. Running means a lot more interaction with your surroundings, and in many ways that is good, and I never got bored on this run, but a lot of these factors slowed me down. Also, by the time I hit the Fry/BST intersection by the Main Gate, my legs were extremely angry with me. We persisted though, and finished up (though they aren't really speaking to me in anything right now other than sharp wincing pain), but my pace was much slower than I usually run- My long runs have been consistently between a 9:30 and 9:50 mile pace, but this one was 10:18.

So I felt a bit of a setback, until the little voice in my head I attribute to God (who always speaks in Johnny Cash's voice) said, “Hey dumbass, you just did two half-marathons in a week's time and you can still walk.” Johnny had a point.

When I started this little venture, I didn't believe I would quite be ready for a half-Marathon by the end of the full schedule. Yet by week eight, I have done two of them. Something funny I did notice; the zombie-like out of breath pain-filled state of being I was in at mile 11 Saturday, I used to hit at mile three. Anyone reading this who's shared time with me in Our Firm will remember Foster the non-runner. Right now, the non-runner is gone.

That's something I want to make sure isn't a fluke...

The Golden Pace

Pictured above is the "Golden Ratio" which is apparently God's little blueprint for creating things (1.618 or 2 to 3 to 5). This particular blog post has little to do with the Golden Ratio, but I was looking for signs of that perfect thing... because I came really close to finding it this week.

My runs during this, week seven, were pretty good. Due to inclement weather on Tuesday, I saved my week starter until the afternoon, which was pretty pleasant. I was also at a track with astroturf, so I ran a bit on there barefoot- much more foot friendly than my ill-fated tryst with barefoot running on a treadmill. Now, then I got up the next morning and did six miles, only about 12 hours later, and the legs felt tired, but I kept through. Thursday, I also ran in the afternoon, and was looking forward to Saturday, which was to be a 12 miler- the longest I would have ever run.

Saturday morning was clear and nice, so out I set. My first three miles felt kind of blah- not bad, just not in the groove. Then, during mile four, I found it- I found the Golden Pace. Don't ask me what the difference was, but for the next 8 miles, my feet and legs were perfectly comfortable, my breathing was relaxed, my mind was thoughtful, and I kept feeling like I was just floating down a river. Seriously, it was damn near transcendental. As I went up my last hill, the legs got a little tired again, but nothing too bad. So I kept going. Instead of 12, I did 13.1; the length of a half-marathon. Now, I won't do a real half-marathon until February as you recall, but I know for sure I can, and my time was about two hours and seven minutes- no world's records certainly, but for a guy who wouldn't run more than three without being chased by pitchfork wielding villagers, I felt pretty good.

And today, the day after, I feel pretty good. We'll see how my two day burn feels tomorrow, but I think all this running is starting to add up- see? Math, now my Golden Ratio allegory works.

Did learn another lesson this week though- always trim your toenails before a long run. The ring toe (well, what else do you call it? It's the one by the pinkie) on my left foot decided to get all Ted Bundy on my middle toe, and in my euphoria I didn't notice until I pulled off my sock and had a momentary urge to call CSI: Sierra Vista in. Looked worse than it was though, and next week proper grooming will precede all long runs.

I hope it's still Golden...

Eating up week six...

This was a tough week. I had been considering taking it easy this week to let some of the tweaks and aches in my heels and calves lighten up, but I came to realize what my far greater problem is. It's something I learned from this guy in the third grade:


You are what you eat.

See, Monday nights we like to go to the local kid friendly pseudo-bar and watch football while hanging out with friends. Knowing I should have had salad and maybe a beer, I had two (including a tall Guinness) and a Chipotle Chicken sandwich. Yes it was delicious, but come Tuesday morning at 4:30 AM, I felt like the beer and chicken had become anvils which had gone directly to my ass and feet. Keep in mind- I was still thinking it was just time for a rest anyway, so I didn't think too much of it, severely abbreviated my run and went about my day.

That night for dinner, I had lean chicken and vegetable wraps in tapioca paper with salmon sushi. In short, lots of protein and greens, with enough carbs to be fuel. My Wednesday run (which I started out of habit... yes, getting up early and running is in fact getting to be a habit) was five miles, and I felt great. Cue beer and pizza dinner...

Cue really dragging ass again on my Thursday run! I realized dinner had a direct correlation on how I felt on my runs. So Friday night, regardless of being at a Military formal, I boosted up on the carrots and cucumber salad, with some leafy greens as well, and had just a small sampling of beef and fish. Even with the beer to wash it down, my seven miler on Saturday (light week on the Higdon plan anyway) was just fine. Later on I worked on my car, and feeling manly I decided I would run some more, but the Lovely Jennifer made Chili Verde (healthy and delicious) so I tucked that motivation away to use for later.

So, this week's Sesame Street lesson? As the Giuseppe Arcimboldo painting from the 16th Century at the top shows... you are what you eat.

Like a Buddy Cop Movie...

It's very possible I learned a life lesson running this week. It's kind of a foo-foo lesson, and one you'd likely hear on Sesame Street, but the Children's Television Workshop may be right.

As I have engaged in my little bout of self discovery through distance running, the point has always been I am racing no one but myself. How do I see myself when running?





But for the first time since starting this madness, I set out to do my Saturday long run with someone. This person shall remain nameless so as to protect his reputation from being associated with the likes of me, however this is someone who does this stuff a lot. Triathlon competitor, done a couple Marathons, in ridiculously good shape. He deigned to go out running with my slow ass.

I did warn him- I've been running between a 9:30 and 10:00 mile average for anything over five miles. One of my mantras has been to relax and run. I told him he would likely be bored with how slow we were moving. He made a very good point back to me- we were preparing to run 10 miles. How many people did we know who would run ten miles at ANY pace? We have a pretty physically oriented firm for which we work, and yet, the usual run is about speed, and rarely about endurance. Endurance is the great equalizer in running. An interesting side note is the fact that women in sprints have never been able to get close to men in comparable shape. However, the longer the race gets, the more competitive the genders get. Women are as likely to win an Ultra-Marathon (50 or more miles) as any male competitor. Take for instance Jenn Shelton:



Runs Ultras all the time and apparently drinks tequila like it's water. Amen.

So anyway, I set out with a running partner, who as someone far more professional at this than I, had all the right gear, including this spiffy little gizmo which told us exactly how far we had run at any given moment, our pace, and his heart rate. (Let me also point out that it beeped when his heart rate went under 120- and it beeped often at my pace.) As we cruised along though, we chatted, and he kept pointing out we were making good time. In the end, we did a little more than we planned- 11.2 miles, and we did it in 1:37. This is odd, because we actually hit the ten mile mark at the time I had previously done the nine miler.

Now, my legs did complain a bit after, but with someone to work off of, to pace with, and even just to converse with while running, it went by faster, and if you were watching, I went by faster.

So perhaps there's a CTW moral to the story- two heads (or sets of legs) are better than one. Sure, I am only competing with myself, but that doesn't mean I can't bring someone along. Maybe now I should see my running self like this:




When preparing this, I went looking for the Lone Ranger to put up top in the "loner" part, but I always found him with Tonto. Obviously, he's already learned this lesson.

Week Four! (trying to keep it clean- grody things ahead though!)

Here I am, one month in. Given last week's injury I was afraid for a while this was all for not, and I was going to sink back onto my couch and return to the land of too many doritos, but I seem to be OK.

Started doing lots of calf stretching- read online that a lot of achilles tendon aches aren't the tendon at all, but the calf, which makes much sense since the injury I had earlier this year WAS MY CALF (duh Dan...). After copious amounts of various calf stretches, I ran and found the pain in my heel went away after about half a mile. Weird huh? Run more, hurt less. I know, I'm shocked too. Been that way all week though, I get my calf good and loose and warm, the heel feels fine, and even when it does hurt, it's a mild ache rather than the limpy 'ouch' producer it was last week.

Got to do my Wednesday four miler along the Courtney Campbell Causeway across old Tampa Bay. Did it just so the sun was coming up as I finished. Running right along the quiet water. Thought I was being stalked by an alligator, but in fact it was a whole population of feral cats living in the bushes along the water on the north side. One ran alongside we for a while, but I don't think was enjoying a jog as much as fleeing in terror from the bald stomping menace. Here's some pics, sorry the first one's blurry (I was running!)




Came back to Arizona that day, so my Thursday three miler was at an elevation about 5000 feet higher than my Wednesday four miler. Yes. I noticed. Very much.

Then Saturday was a new long run, and again further than I had ever run before. Did nine miles, broken into an out and back around Buffalo Soldier Trail and the Sierra Vista Mall. Took my body a while to get into it, and even at the turn around, I was not convinced this was a good idea. Learned some valuable lessons about running that long:



1) Urinate first. Hit me about mile three. Felt my bladder slosh like my camelback for a while. Then, oddly, by the time I got home, I didn't have to any more... (lesson 1.5- drink more water).



2) They aren't lying when they say wear something over your nipples. Tingly (relax BTW- first of all, that's not me; no metal hanging from my chest, and second, it's a dude. Though, I've always wondered why male nipples were OK and Female nipples weren't. At least a woman's nipples have practical application- mine just rub my shirt when I run. End of nipple tangent).



3) It doesn't matter if it is a clearly labeled multi-use path with signs telling you to pick up your dogs' droppings, someone won't. Only one fleet of foot spry twist kept me from befouling my Nike Free Everyday 2s this morning. Luckily I was not incoherent at the time. I love dogs, I loved my dog- I always picked up her poo when we were out.

It'd be nice to have a dog to run with. I'd pick up poo...



Next week: TEN MILER!

Ow. No really, ow!

Week three- I am on the road, on a business trip to Florida, and in an unfamiliar area, in particular downtown Tampa. Beyond that, my work here means doing my running at 5AM. So, being a scared Southern Arizona hick, the last thing I wanted to do was go running at 5AM in an VERY urban area I don't know at all.

So, I decided to use the treadmill in the hotel.

I used to do treadmills all the time. Having recently learned how to run properly however, my love of the hamster wheel has come to an end. Running just my three miles Tuesday was tedious agony. So (trust me, this is getting us to a point), on Wednesday, I decided I would try something new. I would do the majority of my four miles on the treadmill normally- then I would do two minutes- only two minutes- barefoot.

Barefoot running as a concept is something I discovered reading the MacDougal book "Born to Run." Found out there's a whole cult of barefoot runners, and even some podiatrists are beginning to talk about the wonders of SMART barefoot running. I recently bought a pair of deck shoes- just enough soles to protect the skin, but thin enough to allow your feet to feel the running surface and adapt appropriately. Think about it: if you wear arch supports, you keep the muscles in the arch from ever doing their job. What muscle can you constantly rest and expect to have perform when you need it? In "Born to Run" they even talk about a guy who learned how to barefoot run, and lost two shoe sizes because his arches came back.

The good news is, one of my feet was very ready for barefoot running, and could have done more than the two minutes. The bad news was my injury from six months back in my achilles structure in my right foot was not as healed as I thought.

So, this week was a bit of a set back. My achilles inflamed and hurt all day, and indeed still is achy. I have been icing it every night, and did not run Thursday. Today (Saturday), though scheduled to run five miles (light week on my Higdon plan), just a light jog felt off, so I did five miles of elliptical instead. Going to keep nursing this and see where I am Tuesday when I am scheduled to run again.

Now, though this is a setback, I am not horribly discouraged. My uninjured foot was very ready to try barefooting- I have been wearing the Nike "Free Everyday" shoes which is their cunning plan to get me to pay as much for a shoe with half the padding of a normal set of Nikes. They want in on the Vibram 5 Finger market. They have been a good shoe though, and are getting me weaned off lots of padded thudding shoe which keeps my feet from doing what they are supposed to. I am still convinced I can do it, but I need to work on my tendon in the right foot.

Also, I have flex time built into my schedule- I stated from the beginning my marathon isn't until May, so the Higdon schedule (which wraps up in February) gives me a little more time. I do want to be healthy and not damage my foot.

Lastly, now that I have not been able to run for a few days, I realize that I miss it! I WANT to run! Finally breaking the horrible habits my Firm has instilled in their completely wrongheaded ideas on running is making me into a believer. Had you told me three months ago I would want to go out and run, that I would ENJOY doing five or six miles, I would have called you a dirty liar and kicked you in the knee. Now... it is so.

So, my report this week is not as great as I want it to be, but I am still in the game. You and I will find out together how long it takes Achilles to stop killing the Trojans in my foot (that's a really forced play on words- sorry).

Who's the what?

Week two is complete! A good walk on Sunday, then three steady miles on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each. Then, this morning, seven miles in delightful 64 degree Arizona weather! Sounds great, huh?

Yeah, that's because you don't have my calves. This was the week (if you follow me on Facebook you heard this complaint) my body caught on to what I was trying to make it do. My three miles were good, and I kept the "think light, think easy, if you are working too hard you are doing it wrong" pace I planned to (between 9 minute or 9:30 miles). However, the calves were a bit whiney about it. Then this morning (Saturday) came the bog seven.

I haven't run seven miles since I was in Monterey CA the first time 16 years ago. I was doing a regular six before my calf tear in Washington, but seven is psychologically a bit different. Nevertheless, committed to this insane path I have chosen, I set out this morning about 7:30 to do what we call 'The Mall Loop' in Sierra Vista (about six) and and extra mile for fun. It is a nice run- good trails and paths, though all paved, it is smooth and away from traffic. There are good variations in uphill and downhill, and should something snap, break, grind, or quit, it is not so far for the lovely Jennifer to come drag my crying corpse back to home.

Had an odd experience with it today. I got to two miles- not much considering, and the calves were tight. Not screaming, but argumentative at least. Then they shut up and let me run. Then, around three miles my hip started to ache. I pushed on through, and it shut up too. Then, at mile four, my left foot began to tell me my arch hurt, while my right calf began to ache around the area of the tear. I steeled myself, adjusted my stride and kept on. Then came Mile Five, I worked through it and as I finished my fifth mile, it all fell away.

Suddenly, with two miles left, I felt like I just started running. My body felt fresh and ready, and even though I was running uphill, I started making better time than I had when I started. I finished strong and happy, and enjoyed a nice breakfast with chia seeds and peanut butter with some yogurt (replenished protein at lunch with some salami (gosh that sounds dirtier than it should) ). It was like my body said "fine, you aren't giving up, we'll stop throwing pain at you." I have no doubt the various parts which make up my physical presence are going to ambush me again at some point, but this week, today at least I showed them who was boss.

Though I really hope running doesn't turn me into Tony Danza.