Impatience + Competitiveness / Success x Benefits = Running

Because I don’t currently have access to my less-than-stellar training specs from last week, I’ll have to skip that portion of this post (dry those eyes, everyone), and instead focus on something altogether more meaningful: why I run.

Let’s set our scene: imagine a 6-year old with a face full of freckles and a sort of dirty blonde (but quickly approaching "just plain brown") afro. Now imagine that same child with seemingly boundless energy (so much so that he was asked to be a student in the inaugural Pre-First class, a made-up grade falling in between Kindergarten and 1st Grade for those showing the inability to sit still long enough to move on).



As you might imagine, asking an already-excitable kid to essentially retake Kindergarten (which sort of makes it sound like I flunked it, doesn’t it? How depressing) probably wasn’t too stimulating to the old brain pan. In fact, as close as I can remember, Pre-First was really just one long recess. So we’ll say that’s where I first began to hone my endurance. It’s probably nothing more than a well-told lie (one based upon the random, broken images of a 6-year old), but I feel it works well as a sort of foundation for the remainder of my tale.

Truth be told, I think I’ve always liked running, but never realized it until just recently. Even to this day, whenever my mom asks me to “run to the car” as a figure of speech, I take it as an excuse to do so literally—not because I’m too thick-headed to realize the difference, but because it’s something I enjoy. It just so happened that eventually, “to the car” wasn’t far or often enough. But why? For one thing, I’ll readily admit that some of my running is/was borne out of impatience—why take 5 minutes to get somewhere when you can take 4 and enjoy an extra minute at your destination? I also like surprising people with my speed; yes, fine sir, you did just get beaten by an unassuming sort of fellow with bird legs and "just plain brown" hair. And I’m good at it. That helps (quite a bit), too. But, while those all factor in to my running equation, the fact remains that I run because I like to. I like pushing my body and being surprised how far it will take me. I like getting lost in the sights, smells and feel of a run—being the only person in the world to experience some of nature’s little idiosyncrasies is a wonderful, wonderful thing (and very cathartic). Factor in the ability of running to keep me fitting into my clothing and it’s a win/win situation.

Impatience + Competitiveness / Success x Benefits = Running

March of Dimes 5k Shamrock Run this Friday at 6:00 PM EST. I sincerely hope that, at approximately 6:16:30 I still feel as positively about running. Also, I'm seriously considering running an ultra marathon or 24-hour race later in the year. More on that, later.

Music and Me (At Least When Running...Sometimes)

Today, I'll be treating you to my whilst-running playlist, but first:

Tuesday: Ran 4.63 miles in 37:49 (8:10 pace). Also did some light sit-ups and push-ups.
Thursday: Ran 3.95 miles in 31:44 (8:02 pace).
Saturday: Ran a 0.95-mile warm-up in 7:30, followed by 8 miles in 53:27 (6:41 pace).
Sunday: Ran 18.1 miles in 2:21:01 (7:47 pace).

Weekly Total: 40.52 miles

Monthly Total: 140.22 miles

Below, you will find a listing of songs that are currently on my handy 2GB Sansa clip.



I don't always, or even generally, listen to music when I'm running (the reasons being twofold: 1. I like to train in a race-like atmosphere, which is typically devoid of music and 2. The sights, sounds and smells you encounter when out for a run are oftentimes unimaginable, especially when paired with each other), but when I'm stuck on a treadmill, or feel that a run might be enhanced by some tunes, these are some of my favorites. The songs are either topical, offer a good beat to which to run, or are simply, unequivocally fun (i.e. smile-inducing, lyric-belt'able).

Aha - Take on Me
Boston - More Than a Feeling
Feist - 1234
Foo Fighters - All My Life
The Killers - All These Things That I've Done
Fenix Tx - Beating a Dead Horse
Alphaville - Big in Japan
Lonely Island - Boombox
System of a Down - Chop Suey
Vampire Weekend - Cousins
Metallica - Die Die Die My Darling
Andrew W.K. - Never Let Down
Rammstein - Du Hast
Serj Tankian - Empty Walls
Foo Fighters - Everlong
Milencolin - Farewell My Hell
Andrew W.K. - Fun Night
AFI - Girl's Not Grey
The All-American Rejects - Gives You Hell
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way
Mudvayne - Happy?
OK Go - Here It Goes Again
Shakira - Hips Don't Lie
Panic! At the Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies
B.o.B. - I'll Be In the Sky
Foreigner - Jukebox Hero
Stroke 9 - Kick Some Ass
Jeff Lynne - Lift Me Up
Saul Willaims - List of Demands
Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer
Electric Light Orchestra - Livin' Thing
Vampire Weekend - M79
Lagwagon - Making Friends
The Musketeer - Movie Trailer Theme (Craig Armstrong - Escape)
Alien Ant Farm - Movies
New Found Glory - Glory of Love
Lagwagon - No One Like You
Jimmy Eat World - No Sensitivity
Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
Andrew W.K. - Party Hard
Weezer - Pork and Beans
Disturbed - Prayer
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside
Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom
Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Goin' Down
System of a down - Aerials
Reel Big Fish - Take on Me
Boondock Saints - The Blood of Cuchulainn
Europe - The Final Countdown
Cyndi Lauper - The Goonies 'R' Good Enough
Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance
Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
Mannfred Mann's Earth Band - The Runner
Adema - The Way You Like It
Weezer - This is Such a Pity
System of a down - Toxicity
Annie Lennox - Walking on Broken Glass
My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade
The Killers - When You Were Young
Mark Safan - Win in the End
Offspring - You're Gonna Go Far, Kid

And here's my dog, listening for the music:

What I Think About When I'm Out For a Run

First things first, let's get to just over a week's worth of workouts, since I've been so slack in updating the blog with them (as well as everything else):

Monday: Ran 7.5 total miles (0.5-mile warm-up in4:07, followed by a 7-mile pace run in 45:49; 6:33 pace). Also did some light ab work.
Tuesday: Ran 4.22 miles in 32:56 (7:48 pace). Also did some ab work.
Wednesday: Ran 15.94 miles in 2:03:10 (7:44 pace).
Thursday: Ran 5.68 miles in 46:33 (8:12 pace).
Friday: REST
Saturday: Ran 4.45 total miles (0.95-mile in 7:46, followed by 3.5 miles in 23:13;6:38 pace) in 30:59.
Sunday: Ran 13.92 miles in 1:41:43 (7:18 pace), as part of a 3/1 workout.

Weekly total: 51.71 miles

Monday: Ran 4.89 miles in 38:35 (7:53 pace). Also did some sit-ups and push-ups.

Now on to the meat of today's post: my inability to think of anything clever/interesting to write (though some may say it's never stopped me from writing any of my other posts). Perhaps I've simply been away from Blogville/Blogtopia/Blogland for too long, thus my mind is rusty. Or, more sobering, perhaps I've simply exhausted all running-related topics I had hoped to discuss. These are the things I think about when I'm running for two hours; two hours, after all, is a very long time to be trapped inside your own head. Of course, while I'm mid-run I also think of other things that pertain to running: goals, why I run, etc. I'll try to hit upon those topics through the week.

On Friday, March 12 I'll be competing in the 2010 March of Dimes 5K Shamrock Run. Winding through downtown Savannah's historic squares, the race typically features 1,500 colorfully dressed runners/walkers...and all their half-crazed, mostly-drunken pseudo-fans.



I try to run the race each year. Last year, I finished second overall with a time of 16:28 (a pace of approximately 5:18 per mile).



The winner was two seconds faster. Really?--over the course of 3.1 miles, the race was decided by two measly seconds?



This year, I've decided I'll be the guy that finishes first (despite my having not trained specifically for the kind of speed it requires). I recently read an article (in Runner's World) which discussed the mental state of one of our top female runners, in an article entitled Mind Games. The article talks of using a kind of mental reinforcement (in the guise of a word you've previously determined) to better your outlook (and eventual result), both leading up to and during a race. The idea being, if you utter the word when traversing a difficult stretch during the race, you've already assigned this word a positive connotation in the recesses of your memory banks and it will help to put a little pep into your step--after all, I find the hardest part of any race tends to be overcoming my mental deficiencies, not my physical ones. My word: Believe.

FYI, I will not be racing in my Halloween costume from last year, despite it's being ever so appropriate.

Race Photos and Weekend Malaise (i.e. "Things I Did Instead of Running")

Thursday: 5.11 miles in 40:07 (7:51 pace)
Sunday: 6.09 miles in 46:20 (7:36 pace)

I skipped/pushed back what I had scheduled for Saturday (7 miles at marathon pace) and Sunday (16 easy miles) due to prior commitments and general laziness/malaise. I plan to work both in this week, in place of some of my other workouts.

Observations from this weekend:

1.) There's not much prettier than fat, lazy snowflakes falling in the evening. I suppose it helps that, living in the south where the ground tends to be too warm for it to stick, there is no needed shoveling (by me) of said snowflakes.

2.) An hour is certainly not too far to drive to partake of some German grub and suds. Also, little known fact: if you find rice in your wheat beer, it's probably on purpose. If you find anything else in your wheat beer, it's probably not.

3.) StingRay's still has the best seafood in town, which was made all the more enjoyable by being able to catch-up with an old friend. The $20 parking ticket, however, was not nearly as enjoyable.

Happy day-after-Valentine's Day to you all! Also, here are (some of) the photos from the Critz Tybee Run Half-marathon, as promised:







...and a link to the "official" photos from the race (input "933" in the Bib Number field): http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/SearchBibNumber.aspx?EventID=866291&_AccountNumber=718&EventName=critz&EventDate=

Critz Tybee Run Half-marathon Results and Lack-of-Blogging Apologies

First, it appears I owe the masses in blog-land (and all three of you that actually read this) an apology, as I've been lax in my recent updates and have been lambasted because of it. We're down a couple of people at work, so my spare time (i.e. "blog time") has been drastically reduced. Couple that with the fact that I've been using most of this time to work on an editing project I've been tasked with (and am getting paid for), and that leaves very little extra time for blogging. So, until this blog starts making me money, it will remain in its current slot in my schedule: niche-filler. But still, I apologize.

The Critz Tybee Run Half-marathon was a success on many fronts: I remained injury free, ran in my target zone (I was aiming to run it in between 1:20:00 and 1:25:00), and felt tremendous afterward (i.e. able to complete any workouts shortly thereafter without issue). Not necessarily tremendous during, but definitely after. I felt very strong initially, then tired just after the 7-mile mark (though I got my second wind with about 1.5-miles remaining)--I could tell that I'd been doing 6 and 7-mile pace runs in my training, as it was just after this point that my body seemed to say "hey, umm...I think you forgot to stop at the usual spot. So this is what I'm gonna do: I'M GOING TO SLOW DOWN (or at least not get any faster). This is for your benefit, believe you me--you may hate me now, but you'll appreciate me later."

Saturday: Ran the Critz Tybee Run Half-marathon in 1:23:52 (6:24 pace, 20th place overall).
Sunday: REST - decided I'd rather be lazy than run.
Monday: Ran 3.99 miles in 30:33 (7:39 pace).
Tuesday: Ran a 1.65-mile warm-up (12:52) and a 0.75-mile cool-down (6:25), with 5x800 in between. My splits were: #1--2:41, #2--2:40, #3--2:41, #4--2:37, #5--2:39.
Wednesday: Ran 4.22 miles in 31:17 (7:25 pace).

There are supposedly quite a few good race-day pictures of me floating around out there, so once I can get them in my hands, I'll post a few here. In the meantime, you'll have to make do with (click on the image to enlarge it):

Vampire Weekend and Strategy Talk

First things first:

Tuesday: 4.11 total miles, for a total duration of 29:48. This was comprised of a 1.55-mile warm-up (12:02) and a 1.71-mile cool-down (13:36), with 4xhill, 1 downhill (0.17) in between. My hill splits were: #1--0:50, #2--0:54, #3--0:51, #4--0:44 (downhill), #5--51.
Wednesday: Ran 2.55 miles in 21:12 (8:19 pace).

Now on to basic strategy, and where it puts me for this weekend's race. Some people go out hard and simply try to hang on before other runners can catch them. Some people sit (not literally, obviously; that would be disallowed) on the shoulder of a runner whose speed they want to closely mimick, allowing him/her to push themselves more than they normally might. And some people practice something referred to as running "negative splits." Currently, I plan to use at least two of these techniques in combination.

There's a lot to be said for going out at a somewhat rapid pace initally (this is not to be mistaken for starting a race in an all-out sprint, which you will likely realize--all too late--has wiped out any energy reserves you hoped to have with a few miles remaining), then slowing to your target race pace. Starting off quickly helps insure you don't get caught behind a pack of runners that slow you down, while also allowing you to keep an eye on who the frontrunners are and where they're positioning themselves.

This technique is easily combined with drafting another runner (running right behind him/her, just off their shoulder--similar to the way birds fly in a v-formation). As I already mentioned, this gives you the chance to run at a faster pace than you might be able to by yourself, and also affords you the ability to run with a decreased amount of wind resistance (the guy in front of you does all the work, tires himself out, and then you push past him at the end! It's wicked and quite enjoyable...for you, anyways).

Running negative splits is best defined as running progressivley faster as the race wears on--not tiring yourself out by the midway point, then simply trying to hold on for dear life. Many people swear by this approach, and I can definitely see the merits of it (though I've not yet tried it), but I currently try to run as I always have: consistant. For example, if I hope/plan to run 1:22:00 for the half, I'd want to run 6:15 mile splits for each mile...and would try and practice doing so in the weeks leading up to the race. I've been running 6:30s on my pace runs, as that's the pace I wish to run at Boston.

Which leads me to my last point on the subject of strategy, when it comes to racing. It's true that I'm running the Tybee Half-marathon this weekend, and that I will be racing it (in it to win it!), but I've never lost sight of the fact that this is nothing more than a preparatory race in my lead-up to the Boston Marathon. That means I need to run smart (if I feel an injury coming on, SLOW DOWN!), because the last thing I need to do is run myself right out of being able to compete at Boston; you don't have to set a record every time you run a race, and not having to take an entire week off of training to heal after this race will go a lot farther than going all out to gain ten extra seconds in my prepping for Boston.

The plan: Get a good start and sit on the shoulder of someone running at/around a 6:25-6:30 per-mile pace (assuming there is someone doing so). Assuming I'm feeling pretty good, start increasing my pace, little by little (negative splits), around mile 6--the halfway point.

Of course, I retain the right to change my mind and scrap this plan altogether at any time in between now and when the starter's gun goes off.


And here's a band (Vampire Weekend) I recently came across (thanks, Julia!) and very much enjoy:



...and:




And I'll link you to my favorite of the bunch, which is very Wes Anderson-esque, but also contains a brief smattering of bad language:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_i1xk07o4g

Monthly Mileage and the "Magic Number"

Because I'm all for a good routine, I'll begin by listing my recent workouts, as per my norm:

Thursday: Ran a 7.32-mile tempo run (in 52:14; 7:08 pace).
Friday: REST
Saturday: Ran a 6-mile marathon-pace run (in 39:38; 6:36 pace) with a 0.5-mile warm-up (in 4:09). Was supposed to run 7, but due to time constraints was unable.
Sunday: Ran 13.94 miles in 1:45:59 (7:36 pace).

That brings my weekly (Monday-Sunday) mileage total to 38.74 miles (up from last week's 27.44 miles), and my monthly total to 139.48 miles (up from last month's 114.13 miles). As for my monthly increase, I upped my mileage by approximately 8%, which is on-par with the 10-Percent Rule to which many runners stick (for more info, please visit http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--1051-0,00.html).

There will be a noticeable drop-off in my mileage this week, due to my taking at least one extra day off (Thursday, with the possibility of Sunday depending on how many "ouch's" I utter that day) in order to accommodate the Half-marathon I'll be racing on Saturday (the local Critz Tybee Run Half-marathon). The more races you run, the better you get at determining how much rest your body requires to be at it's best on the big day--one day too little and your heavy legs will drag you down, while one day too many can leave them listless and cold. And while there's no true "magic number" (realizing that your legs will never feel exactly the same x-amount of days out from a race), I've found that I'm generally best-served hanging up my trainers as follows (for those days where I do not include a static figure, it is assumed that if I do feel like running on the day furthest out from the race, I will do so very slowly and shortly):

5k: 1-2 days
10k: 2 days
Half-marathon: 2-3 days
Marathon: 3 days, though I generally run a short distance--perhaps a mile--on the second day, to keep my legs loose

Observations from this weekend:

1.) Vinnie Van Go-Go's pizza is hard to beat, whether they get your toppings correct or not.
2.) I was funnier than usual this weekend; either I'm growing as a comedian or others are getting used to my quantity-over-quality approach. I've always laughed at myself...just glad to see others doing it now (at least for one short, glorious weekend) too.
3.) Barbecue sauce and grape jelly (when it comes to crock-pot meatballs) are like peas and carrots--the perfect coupling.

Lastly, here's my dog pretending like she's well-behaved: