Eclectic Ramblings and Bite-Sized Whimsy01/02/2012
Marc Parent
“My Sweaty Little Secret”, “The Newbie Chronicles”, Runner’s World
Quote posted at 08:16
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10/11/2011
Running (Out of Time)
In two days, I will be running my first-ever Half Marathon.
Yes, I’ve been training since August. I’m feeling better (if not faster) than I have in years. Everything’s ready to go on this.
Yet I’m still super nervous. Excited, but nervous. I’m getting worried about the unfamiliar course, my lack of knowledge of the area and where to park pre-race, and my mind is plagued with all kinds of “what-if” scenarios.
I know once I’m out there, feet pounding the pavement while I glide forward mile after mile, that I’ll be ok. I’ve got some paces and plans that should let me finish the first 10 miles with enough left in the tank (hopefully) to race the last 5k pretty hard. I just need to get through these last two days without pulling my hair out and I’ll be golden.
As Tom Petty said, the waiting really is the hardest part.
Text posted at 11:04
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08/11/2011
Arjun Gupta, high school cross-country and track runner in Charlotte, North Carolina
Quote posted at 08:46
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05/10/2011
That moment when you finish running a speed workout and are jogging a cooldown and the high school cross-country team happens to run by and eyes you collectively with a “You sad, slow, old man” expression.
Text posted at 15:41
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15/07/2011
Friday Drabble: Failure is Not an Option
I used to post a drabble (a 100 word story) once a week on Fridays, over on my blog. I’m trying to get back into the habit, and may occasionally cross-post over here on Tumblr when I particularly enjoy the result. So here’s this week’s Friday Drabble for you all:
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Arms pumping, legs churning, he sprinted toward the finish line. The broken pavement beneath his running shoes tried to trip him up, and only sheer luck kept him vertical, and in the lead. He flipped a glance over his shoulder, gauging how far back the others were. Could he make it before they caught up to him? Lungs and body burning, he prayed silently that it would be so. He crossed over the line barely ahead of the pack, and collapsed under their weight. For the zombies, you see, it was never about the race, but only about the finish.
Text posted at 11:04
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Race Day!
I’m running a 5k this evening. Luckily, some thunderstorms and high pressure came through and knocked down the humidity and heat, so it’s supposed to be actually tolerable come 7:30. I’m tapering (reducing my run mileage) this week and am super-jittery today. Drinking LOTS of water to try to stay hydrated pre-race and just try to stay cool, literally and figuratively.
This’ll be my second 5k since my Achilles surgery and recovery last year. I’m not expecting a monumental improvement over my last one (which was both a PR and 1:30 faster than I had planned based on my training program), but it would be nice if I could finish close to or a little bit faster than my last time. The hotter temperatures will be a bit of a factor, but I think I’ll also do a little better in an evening race, so that might be a wash.
Come Sunday, I embark on my HALF-MARATHON training program for the Thunder Road / Amica Insurance Half in Charlotte in November. This’ll be my first half-marathon EVER, so I’m hoping this 5k will be a nice send-off to get me going and stay motivated on my training for the next 4 months.
Text posted at 09:59
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15/06/2011
A Typical Early Morning Conversation
- Me: *snoring*
- Alarm clock @ 5: 15: *Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz* WAKE UP. WAKE UP. *Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*
- Me: Huh? Wha? Huh?
- Alarm Clock: WAKE UP. Or I will continue to blare Top 40 Country hits until I wake up your wife and daughters.
- Me: Huh? Wha?
- Me: Wait, what is going on here?
- Me: Does that clock say 5:15? Who the hell set the alarm for 5:15?
- Me: Oh wait, I set the alarm for 5:15.
- Me: Why on earth did I set the alarm for 5:15 again?
- Me: *slides out of bed, turns off the alarm*
- Alarm Clock: See ya tomorrow, sucker.
- My Body: Wait. What are you doing standing up? We should be sleeping right now.
- Me: I'm not exactly sure, myself. Brain, you want to weigh in?
- My Brain: You've reached Ross' Brain. I can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message I'll get back as soon as possible. Hahahaha.
- Me: Umm.
- Body: Seriously. Get horizontal now, or I'm gonna do it for you.
- Me: Wait. Running. I'm supposed to go running this morning.
- Body: Are you kidding? There's no way I'm going running this morning. Actually, I don't know why I'm even having this conversation with you. I'm going back to bed.
- Me: (weakly) No.
- Body: Excuse me?
- Me: (more strongly) Just give me a minute. Nap while I stand here and think for a second.
- Body: Ok, get back to me when you decide to go back to bed.
- Me: *shuffles to kitchen, makes cup of coffee and toasted english muffin w/ peanut butter*
- Brain: Is that coffee?
- Me: I think so.
- Brain: *sniffs* GIMME.
- Me: Hold on, it's too hot.
- Brain: DON'T CARE. GIMME.
- Brain: Oof. Why am I so fuzzy?
- Me: Because it's 5:27?
- Brain: Yeah, that'd do it. Ok, drink your coffee and I'll check back in with you in 10.
- Me: *sips coffee and eats breakfast in silence*
- Brain: Hey, so, question for you...
- Me: Shoot.
- Brain: Do you really need me on this run? Or can I check out until you're done?
- Me: Um. As long as I'm aware enough to watch out for cars, I should be ok.
- Brain: Cool, yo. Catch you later!
- Me: *gets geared up, stretches, and heads out the door*
- Me: *starts to jog down the block*
- Body: WHOA. Whoa. WHOA. WHOA. What the hell are you DOING??
- Me: Running. Or at least trying to.
- Body: Who told you that you could do that?
- Me: Um. I need to. I want to. I think.
- Body: You could have asked me.
- Me: You were off in dreamland. Next time, help me out when I’m trying to get up and I'll ask for your input.
- Body: Yeah, like that's gonna ever happen.
- Me: Asking for your input?
- Body: No, me helping you out.
- Body: I'll have you know I'm doing this under duress.
- Me: I know. BELIEVE ME, I know.
- Body: I'm not going to like this, you know.
- Me: Yes you will.
- Body: I'll believe it when I see it.
- Me: Um, you like running.
- Body: NOT AT THE BUTTCRACK OF DAWN I DON'T.
- Me: Relax, relax. Look, we're already a half-mile in to the run. Don't you feel better?
- Body: Not really.
- Me: Then why are you running a minute faster pace than you were when we started?
- Body: Because the sooner I hit 4 miles, the sooner I'm done with this running crap.
- Me: That's the ticket. Stick with me, kid, and you'll go far.
- Body: Yeah, not the best way to convince me to keep going.
- Brain: HEY GUYS! MAN, THESE ARE SOME MONDO ENDORPHINS! I FEEL GREAT! I'M FLYING! I COULD REPROVE FERMAT'S LAST THEOREM WITH NO PAPER RIGHT NOW! MAN, DON'T YOU STOP RUNNING, EVER!
- Me & Body: Shut up. Shut up now, or I will watch reruns of According to Jim until you shrivel up and are left sobbing in the deepest recesses of my head.
- Brain: (meekly) OK. Hey, look out for that car.
- Me: Thanks.
- Brain: Don't mention it.
- Body: Um, guys - next time, can you plan a route that doesn't involve hills?
- Brain: That's sort of hard to do around here. We can minimize 'em, but unless we make laps in the neighborhood or drive over to the middle school track, it's hard to keep it level.
- Body: Fine by me!
- Brain: Laps around the neighborhood are only slightly more appetizing than watching episodes of Deal or No Deal. I will do everything in my power to sabotage you at work today if you force me to do that more than once a week.
- Me: Ok, ok, settle down, guys. Look, we'll work out a compromise later. Right now though, let's just get through this last mile and then we can move on to something a little more fun this morning.
- Body: Like sleep?
- Brain: Like more coffee?
- Me: How about - a shower, some yogurt, and a nice leisurely drive to work with air conditioning and some interesting podcasts to listen to?
- Body and Brain: Deal.
- Me: *sighs* And to think I'm crazy enough to consider training for a half-marathon this fall.
- Body and Brain: WHOA. Whoa. WHOA. WHOA.
- Me: *sighs*
Conversation posted at 09:27
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16/05/2011
Milestones
With Saturday’s 5-miler, I passed 100 miles of running for 2011 (with today’s run, I’m now up to 106 for the year). Assuming I can keep up my base mileage to the levels I’ve done for the past couple of months, I’ll surpass 500 miles running in 2011. If I transition from 5K races to 10K races in the fall (and adjust my training appropriately), I could even come closer to 750 for the year.
Yes, when you say it that way, it sounds pretty crazy. At this point, I’m just ecstatic to be able to go out and pound the pavement without any pain twinges from my formerly-busted Achilles, so I’ll just continue to take it one workout at a time and see how it goes.
Text posted at 16:17
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10/05/2011
» No Longer A Shrinking Violet: Distance and time
Littlerunnergurl pointed out to me today that maybe I should start running for distance rather than time. This could be the change I need and give me new goals with my running.
This change though brings up all sorts of questions. Should I concentrate on one distance and keep running that until…
First, let me say that there are as many different training plans and philosphies regarding running as there are brands of running shoes. And just like shoes, you need to find the one that fits - fits your mentality, physical state, and most of all, just feels achievable. If after giving the program a REAL chance you find it’s just not clicking, try something else. You’re not quitting as long as you’re changing it up - you’re just trying to find what works for you so you CAN make progress (again).
As for time vs. distance, I think it depends on your goals and focus.
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If you’re running purely for fitness, effort is one of the key points to focus on, which is why many beginner programs key off running for a period of time instead of a distance - the idea being you get your heart rate up and run for a consistent level of effort (or the best you can manage) across the entire period of exercise. If you’re going this approach, you shouldn’t be too discouraged if on one day you run 45 minutes and get 3 miles in, and the next time you do the same duration you only get 2. The idea is over time, with a focus on maintaining a steady pace and steady effort, you will build that endurance and cover more distance for the same level of effort.
The drawback to this approach is it can take a long time to achieve goals related to running (e.g. running a certain distance or time) because your focus really is on effort. You’ll be getting fit, probably lose weight, and feel healthier, but it may be discouraging to not see “running results”.
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If you’re trying to train to run a race of a certain distance, I think it’s a good idea to work up your base mileage until you’re getting numbers that indicate you’ll be able to run the longer distance that the race requires. This may mean you have to switch over to a running-for-distance plan at some point to make sure you’re getting the miles you need.
The length of your race will determine 1) how many miles a week you should be running by race-day, 2) the length of your longest run that should give you an indication that you can run the race. Long runs usually build to 60-90% of race length, run at a slower pace, so a long run on a 10K plan (in one of the weeks close to race-day) might be 4-5 miles for the 6.2 mile race, while a marathoner might do a 20 miler.
With the above, yes, you’re trying to work on completing a distance, so if it takes you a little bit longer (i.e. slower pace), that’s ok. Many of the beginner plans that use distance use a walk-run approach - you run for
X minutes, walk for Y minutes (with the running time increasing and the walking time decreasing as the weeks progress). Even if you still feel full of energy, you take the required walk break, and you’ll find you’re going MUCH further distance-wise than you could have just by a continuous run. (This might be something to try in your current plan - run 5 minutes at whatever pace you’re supposed to do, then walk 1-2, then repeat for the duration of your time or distance you’re supposed to achieve - even with the slower pace of the walking, you’ll probably find you went further overall than those days where you just ran until your body gave out).
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As for details of a distance plan, you’ll probably want to both increase your distances and your pace, but not so much that your body can’t keep up. A general rule of thumb for a moderate program is increase no more than 10% of your mileage from week to week, and every 4 weeks take a easy week to recuperate, then begin again with a slight pace increase over your previous month’s efforts. If at any point you’re struggling to achieve the plan’s goals, you can either revisit/recalculate a new plan or hold at that level for a couple weeks until you feel you are able to move ahead again.
There are all kinds of training plans out there and many are customizable and/or auto-generated for you based on some information. I’m actually using one of these myself - the Runner’s World’s plan, which starts you off with the following, at a minimum:
- 1 “long” run, with rest days on either side of it
- 1 “easy” day on the first “running day” after your long day
- 1 “speed/intensity” day where you might do a tempo run, speed intervals, etc.
The other days are either rest/cross-train days, or when you’re at the point where you’re putting in more mileage, the plan might have a second easy day thrown in the mix.
If this sounds confusing - that’s because it’s hard describe in general terms. But you can create one yourself for free - go to http://smartcoach.runnersworld.com/smartcoach/ (you’ll have to create a free Runner’s World account and log in first) and it gives you a really easy setup screen to create your own program. By entering basic info like the distance and date of the race you’re training for and how many miles a week you want to start with running (6-11, 11-16, etc), it creates a customized plan with distances AND paces for you. Here’s an example plan I created assuming I was training for a 10K race, with a recent 5K race time of 45 minutes, and a weekly mileage starting at 6-11 miles per week, with a race goal in 3 months:
Set yours up according to your own stats and see how it looks!
The free SmartCoach program only lets you create a plan from scratch - not modify it once you’re underway, but that’s not a big deal to me. If it is to you, you can upgrade to the paid program that lets you tweak paces/distances based on how your fitness is going and any injuries you might get, etc.
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Regardless of the approach you choose, there are a few things I think are important for any training program:
1) Don’t over-do it. 3 days of running a week with rest or cross-training on the other days is PLENTY to start with - your body needs time to recuperate and the rest days will make you stronger than if you pushed yourself every day.
2) Don’t get bogged down over a bad workout or even a chain of bad runs - experiment but don’t get discouraged. Everyone goes through it.
3) Listen to your body, and take it easy when you need to. It’s not worth staying “on-plan” if it means you’re going to hurt yourself or overextend yourself. (This doesn’t mean make excuses for not running, but temper your runs if you’re in pain or can’t seem to maintain your previous efforts once in a while.)
4) ENJOY the experience, and try to think of it as more than just exercise! After all, if exercise is all you were after, you might as well be sitting on a stationary bike in front of a television set, right?
Link posted at 23:37
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09/05/2011
» RossRuns – or Does He? « Rossotron.com
I looked back at my last 20 years of life as a runner, and didn’t like what I saw. Finally turning things around.
Link posted at 14:21
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John Bingham
Quote posted at 14:17
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14/02/2011
This sounds like a pretty interesting little event. It’s a 5k race on the actual track at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track is about 1.5 miles long, so you basically do 2 laps and end on Victory Lane.
I’ve heard the race itself is sort of unorganized, but it’s one of those novelty-type once-in-a-lifetime things that sound like it’d be fun to do. I mean, how often do you get to have a footrace on an official NASCAR racetrack?
Photo posted at 16:07
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02/02/2011
GPOYW - Cherry-tomato red but feeling oh-so-much better edition.
It was just as gorgeous out as I hoped it would be. I swear, running is better than sex. (And I’ll maintain that opinion until at least the next time I have sex.)
Photo posted at 12:53
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It is 55 and sunny out…
…and I have no excuse to skip running at lunch today. I blew it off yesterday, and regretted it for the rest of the day. I’m counting down the minutes until lunch so I can go change into my running gear and get some miles under my feet. I want my legs to carry me away down a secluded trail that winds amongst the trees, keeping everything more than a few strides ahead of me at bay and out of mind.
Text posted at 11:28
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21/12/2010
3.25 miles today - fuck yeah!
Granted, it’s a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things, but it’s nice to know that I’m back on track with where I wanted to be in December in terms of my Achilles recovery. According to the surgeon, it takes 8-12 months for the average person to recover from a ruptured Achilles. Christmas day will be approximately 10 months after my surgery, so if I’m back into 25-35 miles a week by February, I’ll be right where I need to be to start trying to do some moderate-intensity races come next spring…
Text posted at 13:38
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