First visit to the track

Today's run: 5.5 miles of General Aerobic at 8:05 pace and VO2 Max workout of 5 x 600 m

As first described when I was worrying about the heart rate monitor, there is one type of run I had yet to do: the speed workout. This workout is designed to push my heart to the near maximum, getting my breathing going pretty darn hard.

First, the miles. In total, it was to be 8 miles, so I needed to just figure out how much of that was devoted to the speed-part with the jogging in between, and how much to do first. I took a route down part of the length of the park along MLK drive, during wish I wished that I had worn a long sleeve shirt, since fog and wind were the mode of the day. It was largely innocuous, though at certain points I didn't feel like I had much energy and was worrying that I wouldn't have it in me to do the speed workout.

The track: Kezar Stadium. At one point, the San Francisco 49ers played there. They moved to Candlestick Park, and later, Kezar was remodelled. (Incidentally, the K in K-Stars comes from Kezar.) It is now the place to go in the City if you want to run on a track (a public one, at least).

I reached the track early enough such that there were only a few people running around it. By the time I left, there were about 20 or so people. What others had said was true: the slower runners often do not observe the ettiquette of sticking to the outer lanes (or at least, not creeping along in lane #1 – it's like going 45 in the fast lane of a freeway).

My pace: my target for these is supposed to be my 5k pace, but again, I've never really run a 5k for time, so I had to use a calculator. Based upon McMillian's, I should be able to do a 5k in 20:03, which translates to 96 seconds a lap, or 2:24 for 1.5 laps (600 m).

I started at the West end of the track, marking my point at where I could see the two goal-posts from the football field line up. I quickly discovered that I was a) running a bit fast as I rounded the first 200 m in 4 seconds ahead of pace, and b) had a strong tailwind which turned into a strong headwind in the second 200m. Nonetheless, it seemed to balance out in my favor, as all five of my splits were well under the target time:

• 2:19
• 2:17
• 2:18
• 2:15
• 2:11

I was unsure if this was good or bad. Did I set my sights too low? Is the fact that the last two were faster than any of the first three an indicator that I can do better? Does it even matter?

A another point: the heart rate range that is prescribed for these workouts is 94%-98% of my maximum heart rate. I've been using a hypothetical 200 bpm for a while, with some success, and I only spent 42 seconds of these runs in that VO2 max prescribed range. Just something to think about.

On to Hawaii!

More tales from the Mission

Today's run: 8 miles of General Aerobic at 8:27 pace

Due to a scheduling conflict, I was home instead of downtown today, so that meant a longer run consisting of Mission Loops (2 and 2/3). While I am getting to the point of not noticing much on these runs (barely remembering them, actually), there were a few things I saw today:

• On Florida Street, between 18th and Mariposa, I saw a woman asleep on a cardboard box on the sidewalk. What made this sight unusual was the condition of the woman: she was not dressed like a homeless person (or any person you'd expect to be asleep on a cardboard box in the mid-afternoon sun). She wore sandals, dark blue demin pants and a leather jacket, and her face was made-up. Curious, no? She was there, asleep, both times I ran by.
• I think the triangular building along Harrison Street, North of 17th, must have been painted recently. It looks nice, with white, Doric columns around the entrance at the point, and a deep red for the exterior walls.
• Also on Harrison Street, there is a wide sidewalk in front of one warehouse that always seems to be filled with carefully arranged office furniture: chairs, desks, filling cabinets, old computer monitors. Today, I noticed a sign suggesting these things were for sale. Duh, I guess.

This week is a Recovery week, setting me right for what will be the most miles I'll run in a week the following week. Of course, the week consists of 41 miles, only 6 shorter than last, and it features my first speed workout (VO2 Max), but otherwise, nothing of great length (longest is 14), and nothing of great intensity (no Lactate Threshold runs).

And, because this insanity means that my running schedule dictates everything else in my life, I'm taking this week to be a vacation week. We leave for Hawaii on Thursday for a week. Surf's up!

Carnaval!

Today's run: Recovery run of 6 miles at 9:04 pace including 6x100 m strides
47 miles this week. Marathon is 9 weeks from today!

Today's route was my usual Sunday recovery route: the Mission Loops. Only today, the Mission streets I run didn't have the calm, generally resential feel that it usually does, and that's because it was time for Carnaval San Francisco!

At first, I encountered just lots of people walking to and from, many wearing beads, several holding paper bags wrapped around bottles and cans (bottles and cans and just clap your hands, and just clap your hands -- oops, still thinking about that Beck show the other night). Many people sitting on the front steps of there homes along Florida Street, hanging out in the warm mid-day sun.

When I came towards the top-half of the first loop, I realized I was close to what must be a staging area, as people wearing costumes and trucks with sound gear were to be seen. Coming back down Harrison, I realized the festival was on Harrison, so I detoured down Alabama and was treated to the sounds of bands, the smells of grilled food, and the sights of throngs of people spilling over from the area. Very festive.

Not so festive was how I felt. A couple of factors:

• Improper nourishment: while I had had a great breakfast, my morning got away from me and I didn't start my run until almost 2pm, with little more to eat since breakfast
• Tired from yesterday's run: when I awoke in the morning, my legs simply felt tired

That said, even though I struggled to keep afloat and doubted if I would have the energy to do the strides at the end, I finished the run with the strides and called it a day.

With trepedation and nerves

Today's run: Medium-Long Run of 15.6 miles at 8:03 pace.

I have to admit to feeling rather nervous about today's run for several days now. This would be the first run where I would attempt to run at my goal pace for an extended distance. The plan was to run 3 miles as a warm-up, then 12 more at 8:00 pace.

I was nervous for a few reasons:

• The left knee bothered me as recently as last Sunday, and hurt some during last Saturday's 14 mile run,
• I have yet to develop any skill at pacing myself, and
  
• My previous runs of this kind of distance have been slower by at least 20 to 40 seconds.

I prepared for this run by modifying last week's route slightly, and trying to figure out where the mile-markers would be to give an indication of pace. I knew that Galen would join me.

I was again pleasantly stunned to find so many K-Stars deciding to come along. We started wth 8 runners who were willing to go with that plan. We also started too fast, covering the "warm up" miles at 8:08 pace, instead of a more warm-up-like pace of 8:30 or 8:45 that Galen and I had planned.

Beautiful morning to run. Bright, clear sky with a cool breeze to cool us off. We seemed to be approximately on pace from the start, but my mile-markers were not precise, and my watch disagreed with Meredith's, so there was some skepticism from the get go.

Reaching a turnaround point that I had only seen via satellite imagery, all the splits seemed to go haywire. It turned out later that we missed the turnaround, thereby adding a half-mile.

Coming up the Great Highway, we were blasted with a hard wind. Uphill and into the wind. Very hard going. The wind stayed with us all the way up the Great Highway, and it was along that road that we splintered, with Chris, Dave and Meredith sticking with me (or me with them). We picked up the pace, too, covering two miles in that headwind at 15 seconds per mile ahead of our desired pace. During one of those miles, I took my energy gel (another new flavor), and was surprised that I could both keep pace and take the gel. A very good test for the race.

With a couple of miles to go, I could feel my legs start to complain mightily. I developed a healthy skepticism that I would be able to do this pace for 26.2 miles. I struggled to keep up with the other three. Still, I kept them just ahead of me, and somehow managed to finish the run only 5-10 seconds after they did. The best part: my knees didn't hurt at any point during the run

Later, calculating the pace for the 12 (12.6, as it turned out) miles where I was trying to keep pace, the pace comes to 8:00 on the button. Wow. Even adding in the 3 mile warm up, I just need to be able to add 10 and a half miles at that same pace and I'll be right on my goal.

Good day!

Puppetron

Thursday's insanity: Beck at the Fillmore

Beck, with Puppetron.

No, Puppetron is not a band. It is the word Beck used to describe this phenomenon I saw last night.

One of the great things about the Fillmore is that if you get there early, you can be right up close to the stage. This vantage point allowed me to notice, before Beck came on stage, that there was a miniature stage, center-stage and back. Drum kits, microphones, bongos, the curtain and lights. A near replica of the stage itself. A stage within a stage. As it turned out, a puppet stage.

When the show began, four people dressed head to toe in black came to the mini-stage, and produced six marionettes in the likeness of Beck and his band. These puppets proceded to play Beck's breakthrough hit, Loser, with cameras zoomed in on them, showing the action on the big screen that was the backdrop to the stage. Yes, the puppets played the song.

Then, the real band came on. The puppets were dressed the same as the band members. The puppets played along with the band, mimicing the actions of the band as Beck performed. The big screen maintained images of the puppets while we watched the band. When a performer moved from a drum kit to a keyboard, the puppet moved likewise. When Beck changed his guitar, the puppet changed its guitar.

I was watching Beck playing his guitar and singing, with a big video screen behind him of Puppet-Beck, singing and playing.

Puppet-Beck.

On one of the more heavy-rock songs (Minus), I could see about 18 beings (band members, side players, puppeteers and puppets) bouncing up and down, rocking, jamming, moving... It was chaotic. It was, well, insane.

Today's run: Recovery run of 6 miles at 9:17 pace

Two Mission Loops. No knee pain!

I am careful enough not to declare this as Mission Accomplished with respect to the knee issue. I will continue to watch it, ice both knees, and stay off hills. But this is a good sign. Tomorrow's run is a doozy.

Lost, Locke, and my Left knee

Today's run: Medium-Long Run of 14 miles at 8:45 pace.

On television's big hit, Lost, there's a character named John Locke. Locke arrives on the island via a plane crash. Before the plane crash, he was wheelchair bound. After the crash, on the island, Locke can walk.

Yesterday, in Santa Clara, I ran without knee pain. Today, in Santa Clara, I ran 14 miles without knee pain. This is the first time since my left knee started hurting that I have been able to:

• run on consecutive days without pain
• run longer than 7 miles without pain

This seems almost too good to be true. Maybe Santa Clara is good for my knee...

However, the route was dull dull dull. I had to rely on the gym's map, whose longest run was 6.5 miles (supposedly: it mapped to somewhat less than that). And, and and and, it was an out and back. So I went out, and I came back. And I went out again, and I came back again. And I went out what the map said was a half-mile, and came back one last time to make 14.

The trail was mostly gravel, there was one part that I had to cross four times that was deep mud, and there was a strong headwind (where did that come from?).

The pace was nice and relaxed, and perfectly acceptable for a mid-week run like this, especially without other people to help set the pace. This was probably the longest solo-run I've ever done. Oh, and I tried another kind of energy gel and found it pretty acceptable.

I'll take tomorrow off (I'm seeing Beck at the Fillmore!), and I'll see if I can squeeze my recovery run in on Friday early enough to not fowl my Saturday morning MGP run..

Warm weather on the Peninsula

Today's run: Recovery run of 6 miles at 9:01 pace

Down in Santa Clara for the day, I had to run in the late afternoon, when it was still pretty warm, and without the usual cool breezes that San Francisco offers.

I set out on what would be a 4 mile route, thinking that I might not be able to deal with the 6 that my schedule calls for. The route took me down a quiet resedential street and connected to a bike path that parallels a river (the same way the LA River is a river, I'm afraid). I hit the turnaround point and headed back. (This is the left-hand blue line on the map.)

Back along the resedential street, I came upon a foursome of kids who decided to start running with me and sing some little song that I couldn't make out. One of them kept with me for a minute longer, and I asked him if he ran much. He said no, and then something about the Presidential Fitness Test.

When I got back to being within a block or so of the start, I realized that my knee wasn't bothering me at all. Considering for a moment that I might be jeapodizing my next run, I went down a side street that paralleled the train tracks and estimated a mile add-on to get closer to six (this is represented by the other blue line, paralleling the first one. Gratefully, I completed the run without knee pain. I stretched in the shade of a nice tree, on a nice lawn.

Caught in the downpour

Sunday's run: Recovery run of 3 miles at 8:38 pace
21 miles last week. Marathon is 10 weeks from yesterday!

With limited time in my day to squeeze in a Recovery run, hopeful that my knee would hold and that the run would set me right to get me back on track for more miles this coming week, I started my run at the precise moment that the light drizzle in the skies turned to a full downpour. The light to cross Cesar Chavez changed, and I was starting my run drenched from the start.

At least my shoes stayed somewhat dry and I had remembered to wear a hat.

One Mission Loop was about all I did, hoping to do the 5 miles that my schedule calls for, thinking I might cut it to four if the knee started up. Unlike Saturday's run, I started to become aware of my knee at around mile 2, and by the time I was closing in on the 3 mile mark (and finishing the loop), I felt some pain. Thinking that it sure isn't rest to run on a painful knee, and it sure isn't recovery to risk having the knee get worse, I stopped.

This does leave me with question marks about my schedule. It should be 6 on Tuesday, 14 on Wednesday, 6 on Thursday and 15 on Saturday (with 12 of those at Marathon Goal Pace). The consecutive days of running is what concerns me most, as it doesn't feel like 24 hours is enough rest.

•••

One more positive reflection on the K-Stars. It sure is great to run with lots of other people. Each of the past two Saturday runs have been with 5 other runners, allowing great variety in conversation and pacing partners...

Shhh... The knee can hear you!

Today's run: Medium-Long Run of 14 miles at 8:32 pace.

For my first real run since last Saturday, when the knee became intolerable, I was thinking I'd do 10-12 miles, tops. By the time the K-Stars' circle up and prove your machismo by announcing your distance and pace began, I had been convinced by Mike and Meredith to join them on the 14 mile route I had designed with Galen's help for a run about a month ago. Galen was to join us, as was Greg. And we knew Chris was coming so we waited a bit for him.

It was a humid day. The overcast belied the warmth. Almost immediately, my heart rate monitor was in palpatations: 172! What's with 172? Had the mere 4 miles I had run in the previous 6 days reduced my conditioning? Was the pace too fast? It wasn't until we were halfway down Sunset Blvd. that Mike struck upon the most likely hypothesis: the humidity was increasing the workload, and responsible for that additional 8-10 bpm.

[Sunset Boulevard is an entirely less consequential road than the Sunset of my childhood town of Los Angeles. It is nice enough, but there's no Carney's, no Tower Records, no Whiskey, no enormous billboards. And it ends at a lake, not in the Pacific Palisades.]

I consistently and jokingly admonished Meredith for leading the pace, since she had announced that she was seeking to run at 9 minutes per mile, and she was going much faster than that. The group was a bit playful today: at the hill leading to the vista of Ocean Beach, Mike and I exchanged sudden bursts of speed for no good reason. We also teased Galen that he had lost his route-specification privileges (unless I measure it), due to his mistake of last week (19.7 instead of 18), and then reinforced since he was certain we were to loop around the Lake the other way (I knew that would make it over 16 instead of 14).

By the time we reached the Great Highway, my left knee was sending no signs of trouble. This was good! About 7 miles in and just fine. Of course, shortly after Galen asked, and I said I wasn't going to discuss it because it would hear us talking about it, the knee started to register. Fortunately, it was just that: registering. I could feel the ligament against the plica, but not consistently, and without real pain. In the last four miles, I started to feel a bit of pain on and off, and I was sort of pooping out towards the end (I didn't have the strength or will to push harder towards the end).

I spent the several hours after I got home on the couch. It feels like I'm out of shape!

Jane says...

Or just
Try again tomorrow
I'm gonna run tomorrow
Gonna run tomorrow

With apologies to Jane's Addiction...

Trying to overcome the left knee

Today's run: Recovery run of 4 miles at 9:19 pace.

Instead of doing the 12 mile General Aerobic run, I took an easy run today to see how my knee, with the ice therapy, is coming along. I chose to do 2 mile loops in the Mission, hoping I could go up to 6 miles without an issue, but knowing that I could turn back when the knee started up.

That's exactly what happened. At the end of mile 3, I started to feel the ligament in the knee touching the plica. By the midpoint of mile 4, it was consisent. So I packed it in after I completed the second loop.

Fortunately, the sensation didn't turn into pain. I think I will try to do a Medium Long run on Saturday instead of the Friday LT run that the schedule calls for. I'd like to get back towards the meatier parts of the schedule next week, so limiting this week to just two runs seems to be one way to approach it, especially if I can turn the corner on the injury.

Goal Oriented

Running/Resting Update: This is my third day without a run, now skipping two runs. I plan to run short Mission Loops tomorrow to see if I can go 6 miles without pain, but will turn back early if I cannot.

But let's talk about the goal.

• • •

Setting a goal is a useful thing. When approaching a task, being somewhat specific about what you hope to achieve in that task is a handy way to guide yourself towards that accomplishment.

To some, just finishing a marathon is reward in itself. Because I must be insane, I started to get the idea that I would want to run this marathon, my first, within a particular time.

Somehow, right from the start, I pictured 3:30 (that's three hours and thirty minutes) as my goal. This was a naive way to set the goal: I saw that 8 minutes per mile works out to be 3:30, and I've felt quite comfortable at 8 minutes per mile, so with the proper training, I should be able to do the marathon at 8 minutes per mile.

Naive.

I had a handful of runs where I felt great at 7:30, even a couple of times in the park. Still, naive. In conversations with various K-Stars, I came to understand how the marathon is just no ordinary run. There's something about that distance that makes it very hard to keep going, no matter how well you are conditioned. Essentially, the argument is: this is my first marathon, and I don't know what to expect.

Various chapters of Advanced Marathoning describe the pysiological factors that limit performance. Mastering such factors would also provide doubt.

Still, I kept that value in the back of my head as I start my training.

The idea of the Long Run comes, and with it, what pace to run. Various sources suggest you should run those longer runs 60, 90, 120 slower than your goal pace. My 10 mile paces were at 7:30. Several 11 milers with hills at 7:45. 12 mile runs at 8:15. Common 7-10 milers under 7:45 without strain. Advice I now get? My goal is too moderate.

Then there are all these race-pacing calculators. Taking my best 10K prior to training:

• Runners World: 3:16
• McMillan: 3:20

Taking the 10K Personal Record (PR) I did on that big day of running:

• Runners World: 3:12
• McMillan: 3:16

Still, in my head, for a first marathon, on the hilly, challenging course in San Francisco, it seems reasonable to err conservatively. 3:30 still looks good. But to achieve 3:30 with those factors (first marathon, hilly), I should train as if my goal is to be faster than that. I mean, if I were to base my LT pace and Goal-Specific paces on a goal pace of 8:00/mile, I would be training at a lower intensity than my capability, and perhaps leave me poorly prepared given the challenging factors.

So I am setting my goals as follows:

• Day of Race: 3:30 (8:00/mile)
• Marathon-Specific Training Pace: 3:23 (7:45/mile)
• Lactate Threshold Pace: 7:05/mile (which would correspond, according to McMillan, to a 3:20 marathon)

What this means: I will be happy to finish the actual marathon in anything less than 3:30. I will train to make that happen, largely by training to beat 3:30. I will be thrilled with 3:25. In fact, I may need to plan a race strategy that will allow me to err and still come in under 3:30.

• • •

Of course, in the midst of dealing with an injury, thinking about this goal is very hard to do. I fear that the time I spend resting will make it harder for me to achieve the goal. I look at the schedule for this week and see three factors that should help me meet my goal, but I'll likely miss:

1. A 6 mile LT segment on an 11 mile run (an intense run)
2. A 20 mile run (a long run)
3. A 54 mile week (a near-peak level of miles)
   

On the other hand, if I can get back on the schedule and make it to the peak of 55 miles in the first week of the next mesocycle, I might feel like I'm doing enough to keep to my goal.

Great Run, time to fix the knee

Saturday's run: Long Run of 19.7 miles at 8:38 pace
40 miles this week. Marathon is 11 weeks from today!

Again, I'd like to wax rhapsodic about the K-Stars Running Club.

The plan for the weekend was to run a 7 mile General Aerobic and an 18 mile Long Run. The thing about an 18 mile run is that one doesn't typically show up at 9am with the group assembled and say "I'm going 18 miles today" and find that a handful of others will spontaneously decide to join. First: that's a long run, so one needs to be prepared for it (water, fuel). Second, it'll take a long time, so one needs to wrap their day around it. Third, you'd get back so late that everyone else will be gone from brunch.

So to get this done, I emailed the club alias and arranged with Grethe and Owen to start early and go 18 miles, and to be met by Rachel along the way. I announced the plan back to the alias, and got a late Friday night email from Chris. Saturday morning, while stretching, I saw Galen approach (quite a nice surprise: as he doesn't like to get up so early and didn't indicate on Thursday that he was even considering the long run Saturday).

So six of us headed out together along a route that Galen directed, one that provided a stunning panoramic view at the peak in Fort Funston. It involved a loop around Lake Merced, ascent into Fort Funston, and the usual Golden Gate Park / Great Highway.

It was just fantastic to have all that many people to talk with along the way, laughing about this and that, taking in advice from Owen (who wrote and published Running for Fitness), and Grethe (who has run 15 marathons). Also, I was pleased to try an Energy Gel that was easy to consume and didn't taste so awful.

The only downside, if you could call it that, is that Galen's route wound up being close to 20 miles instead of the intended 18.

Well, the other downside is that my knee is definitely in trouble. For about half the run, I was aware of the inflamation of the plica, and the feeling of the ligament sliding against that inflamaiton. For some minutes, there was actual pain involved. It has reached the point where I need to rest it (in addition to ice and ibuprofen).

• • •

The question now is: how much rest do I give it. Pfitzinger and Douglas have little to say about injuries, other than to not come back too soon from them, and that if you take time out for them, you can hop back on to your schedule so long as your off-time isn't so great (specifically, more than 10 days). Here was my plan for the next week, including today:

• Sunday: 7 miles General Aerobic plus Strides
  
• Monday: Rest (softball game)
  
• Tuesday: 6 miles Recovery plus Strides
  
• Wednesday: 12 miles General Aerobic
• Thursday: Rest
  
• Friday: 11 miles including 6 miles Lactate Threshold
  
• Saturday: 5 miles Recovery
• Sunday: 20 miles Long Run

I've already decided this much: no run today, no run Tuesday.

Wednesday, I'm thinking I'll do a 3-6 mile Recovery run, just to see if things are getting better. From there, I'll have to decide about Friday through Sunday. I'm disinclined to skip the Lactate Threshold Run, but I might have to. I'm less inclined to do the long run, since I basically already hit the 20 mile mark thanks to Galen's route yesterday (seriously: I'm looking at this as a benefit: had it only been 18, I'd feel like I needed to take that step up).

I'll just have to see how this week goes.

Trouble with a capital "T"

Thursday's run: 11 miles of General Aerobic at 8:07 pace

As in knee Trouble. As in left knee trouble!

Through about half of the run, I experienced what I think of as the second stage of the irritated plica injury that I had experienced in January on my other knee. The second stage feels like there is something in the knee that, as I bend it and unbend it, is rubbing against something else. It is not especially painful, but it does not feel right.

This is most distressing. I know, from having seen a doctor about the right knee, what he'd say:

• Ice
• Reduce hills
• Reduce mileage
• Rest

In January, I stopped running for a week (rest) and started icing my knee several times a day, every day, then started running flats, three days a week (resting in between). I slowly built up to where I felt little or no pain when running, and no off-day pain. I reached about 30 miles a week before starting the program, and since then, I have felt little or no pain in my right knee. I have continued, however, to ice the knee three or four times a day.

If I were to follow the same procedure, I'd be completely off the schedule and not be ready for the marathon.

So at this point, I am hoping that ice and ibuprofen are sufficient to keep the left knee in check. I will re-evaluate each run. (But at this point, it seems to be getting worse on each run.)

•••

Thursday's run was the same route as two weeks ago, and I was joined by K-Star stalwart, Galen. Very enjoyable to run with Galen!

Galen and I noticed a few things (though mostly talked, rather than noticed):

• What appeared, from a distance, to be a lot of kites flying from Marina Green turned out to be a clatch of parasailors!
• Another cruise ship in dock, meaning a very crowded path on the Embarcadero and Fisherman's Warf.
• Curse those cyclists who think it is okay to ignore the Embarcadero's bike-lane and instead, weave recklessly in between pedestrians! One of them seemed to play a game a chicken with me.

•••

Pacing. One note of interest. Generally, I've been doing these General Aerobic runs at a reasonably slower pace (and Galen and I had intended to do this run slower). In fact, the last time I did this particular route, I was almost 4 minutes slower (25 seconds per mile slower). However, if I use the heart rate monitor as an indicator of effort, this was just where I should be: average of 156 bpm. (Last time, 155. Sunday's 12.8 miler: 159). If we use heart rate as an indicator of effort, then it seems I spent the same effort and ran faster.

An extra lap for me?

Today's run: Recovery run of 4 miles at 9:16 pace.

A brief run... 4 miles just ain't what it used to be: one Mission Loop plus an up and back to 22nd Street along Alabama. Actually, the up-and-back came first, and along this route, I passed by a couple of guys, one of whom was seated on his front stoop with a walker in front of him (young enough not to have a walker, though), and he called out:

Please sir, can you run an extra lap for me?

Laughingly, I shot back: "Yep, you got it!"

A bit on the warm side, today. Also note variation in pace with the same heart rate on the last two recovery runs:

Saturday: 4 miles, 10:15 pace, 146 average bpm
Wednesday: 4 miles, 9:16 pace, 145 average bpm

Ouch ouch ouch

Tuesday's run: 10 miles: 3 miles of Warm Up at 8:21 pace, Lactate Threshold run of 5 miles at 7:01 pace, 2 mile Cool-down at 8:41 pace.

Monday night: leading off in the bottom of the first, I hit a grounder to shortstop and press the defense by sprinting down the baseline to try to beat it out. The throw is rushed and not handled by the firstbasewoman, and so I try to change my momentum and head towards second to take advantage of the overthrow. Instead, my cleats find no traction on the hard dirt and I fall, landing on my hip and scraping my elbow. Ouch.

Tuesday brought my first Lactate Threshold run in this, the Lactate Threshold (LT) and Endurance Mesocycle. To some degree, I've been preparing for this mesocycle for quite a while, and I must admit to being a bit nervous about it. I mean, I did all that heart rate monitor stuff and a big day of running to try to figure out how to do these LT runs, after all. My target pace would be between 7:00 and 7:05 per mile, according to these machinations.

With that nervousness, I was not optimistic that I'd meet pace, because:

• I had a really hard time the last time I tried to make a less aggressive pace.
• Thomas said to me that the first time he did this program, he never reached his LT pace. And Thomas is fast.
• I did not get enough sleep the night before. Thank you, GCN #122242!
  
• Potentially, the spill I took at first base would create bothersome pains.
  

In order to do a paced run on something other than a track, I took some pains to measure out a route, making note of where the mile markers would be (example: Mile 1 was at the sharp curve near the overcrossing near Pier 39).

As I began my warm up miles, heading towards Aquatic Park, I saw a bunch of people wearing Jint-gear and realized that my route was flawed. The area of my route that passes by PhoneCompanyPark would be crowded with people approaching for the night game! While running, using whatever reference points I had memorized, I had to recalculate my LT run plan. Mildly distressing and preoccupying.

I took the warm up pretty easily, but wound up at the three mile mark faster than I thought. I changed my watch settings, caught my breath, and started.

About half a mile in, my left knee started to register. I reached the 1 mark and noticed I was well ahead of pace, and I started to think about how I tended to start too fast in my first couple of 10K races. I was slower in mile 2, but still on pace overall. I worried at this point about overcompensating so I tried to just keep on that same pace. Mile 3 was my turnaround point (to avoid the crowds at the ballpark), and I was a hair slower. Wondering how I could make it two more miles at this pace, I guess I stepped it up. I noticed that whenever my breathing got a bit heavy, I switched modes and relied on my legs to propell me (does anyone know what I'm talking about?) I reached mile 5 and was pleased to note two things: 1) my time was good! 2) my knee didn't hurt the whole way through. Here are my splits:

• Mile 1: 6:50
• Mile 2: 7:05
• Mile 3: 7:07
• Mile 4: 6:54
• Mile 5: 7:07

An average pace of 7:01, which is considerably faster than I thought I'd do, and on the fast side of the target range. Interesting to note than none of my splits (except Mile 2, barely) were inside the target range, though.
My cool down was easy going, though filled with worry about my knees, which seemed to take turns setting off mild signals, seemingly saying:

Hi. I'm here to bother you, but just do so enough to make you think about it. I'm not going to double you over in pain, nor impede your progress. I'll just mess with your head and get all the readers on your blog to yell at you to pare back your program.

One strange sight: A cruise ship, docked at Pier 35, looming high above the waterline. From a mile away, it seems to be out of place, since nothing along the waterfront is that tall. Must have had a unique view of Telegraph Hill from there.

Two Days in the Valley

Today's run: Medium-Long Run of 12.5 miles at 8:20 pace
38 miles this week. Marathon is 12 weeks from today!

Just like that ...except: it didn't include a cat-fight between Teri Hatcher and Charlize Theron...

I woke up early to get this recovery week's longest run in. I followed this route:The weather was perfect: overcast and a little cool. The route starts out sort of boring, as it is a straight line down a wide boulevard with not much variation. So, I started to take note of things:

• A bus-stop poster for the Spanish-language radio DJ, El Cucuy on La Raza. I recognized this from BART ads in San Francisco, so I assume this program is syndicated and the radio station exists in both LA and San Francisco.
• Some people were setting out signs marked "Big Sunday Parking". Was the Sunday big? Or was it the Sunday parking that was big?
• As I arrived at Woodley Park, I saw the beginnings of an Israel Independence Day Festival.
• A bit down Woodley, I saw recreational flyers, piloting remote controlled planes. One was doing loops in the air, reminding me of the warm-up show at Fleet Week.
• At the halfway mark, I was treated to a stunning view of the Sepulveda Dam, the place where the LA River (which I crossed over about four times) converges in the Valley.
• Dam! Dam dam dam! Shortly after seeing the dam, I curse my luck, as I felt a bit of stiffness in my left quadricep, followed shortly thereafter by pain in my left knee. This was the same location and kind of feeling as when I had injured my plica on my right knee in January. This is of major concern. I will be agressively treating this with ice and advil through this week and see if I can keep it in check.

I felt the need to push a little on the way back, and arrived, feeling a little toasted. I tried using a 50% water, 50% sports-drink solution, but I have to say that the sports-drink just leaves a taste in the mouth that says "drink more sports-drink", so I may stick with water.

Collection of Google Earth photos of the LA River crossings I made:

Saturday morning recovery

Today's run: Recovery run of 4 miles at 10:15 pace.

I guess it would figure that an iffy evening run would be followed by a slow, slow recovery run, especially the very next morning. I was glad to get out and put in the easy miles, though, since:

• It is a recovery week, after all.
• I'll be doing 12 miles tomorrow, and I think I'll be feeling well enough by then for a run that feels good.

On the plus side to recording my slowest run on the books: my brother ran with me, and we were able to maintain a common pace the whole way, as well as maintain a nice conversation.

Upon returning to his house, I heard a lot of noise and cheering from someplace nearby, and we went to investigate the nearby Little League fields. Some observations:

• I forgot how much smaller the fields are, even smaller than softball fields!
• Since the time when I played Little League, this league, at least, have added uniforms (and hats) that look just like the uniforms of the Major League teams they are named after. We watched the Dodgers against the Pirates for an inning.
• I could have spent the rest of the morning watching. Fun!
  

Greetings from the Valley

Friday's run: 8 miles of General Aerobic at 8:55 pace

I had a pretty iffy run today (Friday). I had some sort of stomach bug from late Wednesday through this morning, so I couldn't do the 8 miles that my plan called for Thursday evening. I did, however, manage to kick it in time to feel okay to fly down to Los Angeles and visit my family (as planned), and I am writing this from my Big-Sur-Marathon-Finishing-Brother's computer.

My iffy run can be attributed to several factors:

• My iffy condition from the day(s) before (I slept a lot more than usual)
• The temperature outside (I'm in the Valley, after all)
• I felt perpetually thirsty
• I had had lunch a little too late for the hour of my run

The route was a bit dull too.
It is simply a different running environment around here. There are some advantages (long boulevards that present few stoplights against you, and only at mile-long intervals), but those same advantages can be disadvantages (lots of cars – din and fumes – on those long boulevards). One fun part was to cross a small pedestrian bridge over the LA River (yes, that same LA River as seen in Repo Man, amongst other films), as shown here, courtesy of Google Earth.

I also do think it was at least 15 degrees warmer that what I've been running in lately (much of that had to do with starting in the late afternoon and not being next to a cold body of water, such as the San Francisco Bay). At first, I thought I was a gonner, since the sun was a bit warm. But almost immediately, a cool breeze swept up and mitigated that effect. For over half the run, I was running in late afternoon shade, but by the end, I was using some of my water to moisten my fingers to wipe my eyes clear of sweat.

There was also a very nice hill on Oxnard Street that, since I chose in advance to run the route this way, came at mile 5 instead of mile 1. The bottom of the hill felt treacherous, but when I was within striking distance of the top, I felt my pace pick up considerably, and I was certainly going faster at that point than at any other point in the run.

But the heart rate monitor doesn't lie: average of 156 with that pace? I wasn't 100% for a General Aerobic run.

Big Sur Marathon Report: Guest Post

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me hand over the mic to my brother, for his report on Sunday's Big Sur Marathon:
•••

The Big Sur International Marathon probably has the highest percentage of runners carrying cameras of any marathon in America. But you pay a price for the gorgeous course up California’s Highway 1 from Big Sur to Carmel: the hills. The biggest is a two-mile monster beginning at the 10-mile mark, but they’re scattered throughout, and an equal number of downhills put plenty of strain on your quads. To top it off, the last few miles through the Carmel Highlands are full of wicked little banked curves, putting your cramped and aching legs on uneven ground.

And I’ll probably run it again next year.

A little background. For various reasons, I don’t run as often or as seriously as Brent does: usually three times a week, about 100 miles a month. This year’s Big Sur was my fourth marathon – I did Boston twice in the late ‘90s – but I’ve never approached Brent’s speed or level of intensity. Basically, I try to eat right, hydrate, choose good shoes, and put in as many long, slow miles as possible.

I’d finished Big Sur last year in just a few seconds over five hours, and hoped to trim that to 4:50 this year: an 11:00/mile pace. I managed to stay right on pace for the first half, even up and over Hurricane Point, that massive two-mile uphill. But the day warmed up considerably, and in retrospect, I didn’t hydrate nearly enough the last few days before the race. That gave me stomach problems, so that while I’d consumed plenty of Gatorade, water and GU the first half, as planned, I just could not make myself down much during the second half, which didn’t help me stay on pace.

At 25 miles, the mile-marker volunteer called out the time: “four hours, 50 minutes.” I knew I not only wouldn’t meet my goal, but I probably wouldn’t match last year’s time… and I sagged, nearly slowing to a walk (though that wouldn’t have been much slower than my jogging pace at that point!). But I wrenched myself back to a jog, knowing I’d hate myself afterward if I quit.

I wound up a few minutes over five hours, but the same sun that sapped my energy made the Pacific sparkle and the green hills of Big Sur glow, and while my time wasn’t great, I had a great time.

•••
Congratulations, bro!

A Recovery run in a Recovery week

Today's run: Recovery run of 5 miles at 9:10 pace.

I need a perpetual reminder about delayed onset muscle soreness. Yesterday's run felt just fine, but today started off a little rough, certainly related to Monday's softball game I recall in particular one chase/challenge I set up: I was on second with one out. When I saw the fly ball hit to Right Center, I stayed pretty glued to second base instead of taking a bit of a lead, thinking that if the ball was caught I'd tag up and reach third, and if it dropped (which I was pretty sure it would), I'd make it a race to home plate. The ball dropped, and I took off, running as fast as I could and reaching the plate ahead of the throw. I'm pretty sure that kind of sprint was not on the program.

While I thought towards the beginning of the run that I didn't think I needed a Recovery run in between two General Aerobic, moderate length runs, I was wrong about that. It was good to go slow and not that far. My perceptions are definitely changing though: I don't think of an 8 miler as significantly as I did before. What a difference a couple of months makes!
• • •
Today: a bit colder and overcast, 1 and 2/3 Mission Loops.

Ah, Recovery week.

Tuesday's run: 8 miles of General Aerobic at 7:45 pace, including 8 x 100m strides.

At first, I thought today was going to be rough. Opening night for my softball team, last night, produced too many opportunities to blaze around the basepaths (which is one of the things I love doing!). I started to feel a little soreness in my legs around the middle of the day, and figured I was in for a tough run.

The warm day meant for a strong wind in my face on the way out of my typical Tuesday route:


But by the time I turned around, I felt okay. I also felt how tangibly shorter this run was from last Thursday, as my turnaround point came up quickly and I started thinking about how this was to be an easier week. I must say I was surprised by the pace I wound up with. But I can tell that this week will be a nice break. With reduced mileage, shorter runs, and no single run too challenging, I can tell that I'll be primed for the tougher weeks ahead.

I took the strides, well, in stride. I felt a little winded by the end, possibly an indicator that I'm taking these strides too quickly.

By the way, our team pasted our opponents. Mercy rule victory.

When did I lose my mind? (Or: how I decided to run a marathon)

If the premise of this blog is that it might just be insane to run a marathon, then there must be at least one post where I make an attempt to rationally explain this insanity. This is that post, and it is a little lengthy.

First: I'm not exactly a couch potato.

I always liked to run. Running was part of baseball, I sport I've loved since I was about 4 years old and my Dad took me to baseball games and taught me how to keep score. I think there was some sort of fitness test in sixth grade and I remember "training" for it by running laps around the school playground with my friend, Trevor. I also ran Cross Country in high school (which deserves its own post). I gave up Cross Country due to an injury (and the time commitment) in my freshman year at college.

Since then, I ran on and off, but not usually more than twice a week.

In January, 2004, I started running four days a week to try to improve my fitness. I wasn't training for anything, and sometimes my run would consist of going up the nearby hill, doing a loop, pooping out, and coming back home. During this time, and anytime previous to this, I thought the concept of going 26.2 miles was absolutely batty. Nutso. Beyond my capability. I mean, I wasn't running particularly slowly when I ran, and I'd get tired, no matter what distance I ran, but if you run 4 miles and get tired, doesn't it seem that the idea of doing that 6 more times kind of blow your mind?

September, 2004, my brother called me and suggested we run the Big Sur Marathon together that spring. He had run several marathons before, raising money to gain entry to the Boston Marathon. While I had proved myself faster than he in high school, he had proven he could cover 26.2 miles many years ago. For various reasons, I declined, but I had begun to look in to how to train for a marathon, and it didn't seem impossible. There were training schedules for beginners that involved as few as four days a week (and I was already running four days a week). And with enough time and preparation, it could be done. But why?

Between November of 2004 when I ran my first 10k at a 6:53 pace, and May of 2005 when I ran the Bay to Breakers at a 7:45 pace, I started to take my running a bit more seriously. It was something about knowing I could run faster than most of the thousands of people who entered those races, and realizing that I was putting in more miles and getting in better shape as I continued running. I had taken to running in the park on some weekends, and started stretching those runs out to 7 or 8 miles. My wife started encouraging me to find other people to run with.

Other people to run with were hard to find, in my mind. I mostly ran around my home, which isn't a runner's haven like the Marina or the Embaradero or the Park. I didn't think I had time to drive across town to meet up with a group, especially during the week. One big break came when a co-worker of my wife, Amy, was willing to meet me on a weekend morning to go for a long run. She drove a hard bargain: early in the morning (8am!). But this was a success. My longest runs jumped from 8 to 10, and then to 11 or 12. I ran several Saturdays with Amy, and then took to repeating those routes once a week.

In November of 2005, I was at a party when in conversation with a gal named Tamara, she reminded me of the K-Stars. I say "reminded me" because I had looked for running groups at least a year previously but dimissed the idea of driving half-way across town to start running at 9am on a Saturday, but having now done that to run with Amy, it seemed somehow okay. And coincidentally, it was the K-Star map that I had used to understand what routes to take on my initial park runs long before.

I started running with them a couple of weeks later. I started with whomever was doing the longer runs, and generally kept pace with the faster guys there. In talking with the guys, particularly Dave H., I felt confidence build that I could do a lot more than what I was already doing. In short, I felt capable of doing what I once felt was impossible and insane.

Another key contribution came from Thomas, in that I knew his story of establishing a goal for himself to run a marathon in under 3:30 in less than two years, starting from being a non-runner. He reached that goal in much less than two years, and has since far surpassed it. Talking to Thomas about it in some way inspired me (though his revelation that he ran 10 times a week and put in more than 90 miles did nothing to remove thoughts of insanity from my head).
At some point, I just felt that since I was capable, I would.

Why climb Everest?

"Because it is there."

I never thought that was a particularly rational reason, so I may stand by initial assertion that I'm nuts for doing this, though I can't pinpoint when I lost my mind.

Wrap-up: to close the loop from whence it came, I asked my brother to run my first marathon with me. We looked at several considerations and ultimately chose the San Francisco Marathon (timing and travel being the main concerns).As some of you know, I started blogging about it when my 18 week training program began.