Maintenance, Thinking Ahead

Maintenance loop 3.4 miles (32:35). Pretty sore from yesterday, and the crapradoodle was doing her business, but maybe there's something about a sunny winter afternoon that helps keep the pace up a bit. Not a fast run, by any means, but pleasant.

I found myself thinking ahead a great deal to Wednesday's run. Tomorrow's another maintenance, probably on the treadmill at the rec center, but Wednesday will be a long one. I think I'd like to go 17 miles, and I'm trying to figure if I should run 10 in the morning and 7 in the evening or run the whole distance at once.

Either way, I'm excited about it, which I think is good, as it keep my motivation up.

I've also been thinking about my weight. Now that I'm consistently running 30+ miles each week, I wonder if it's healthy to be cruising along at 200 pounds. I don't like to diet, it's true, but I wonder if it's time to cut back on some of my excesses -- I tend to overeat, I sometimes eat because I'm bored, I snack before bed -- those things seem so simple to get up, but like Quentin Compson tells us, it's the idle habits we acquire which we learn to regret the most.

Eleven Day Tally 

Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 15.3
Monday: -----
Tuesday: 5.1
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 6.1
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 6.0
Monday: 3.4

Previous:123.2 miles
Year To Date: 126.6miles.

Running Days: 24
Days off: 6

Maintenance, Maintenance, Something New

I still prefer updating every day, but here's another three-day post as we approach the end of January. I've been working on other projects, and, given a choice between taking the time to run and taking the time to write about running, I think, for the time being, I'll run.

*     *     *

Friday: I got out for the 3.4 mile maintenance loop today, and made fine time (32:52), I think, considering I had the crapradoodle in tow. Something struck me while I was out and I feel the need to cast a local apology lest I have offended somebody.

In my own defense, I very rarely think about my attire, except in terms of the weather -- is it too cold to where this or too hot to where that: otherwise, I hardly ever think of myself in terms of how I look.

Which is why, when I grabbed this long-sleeve shirt this afternoon --

-- I was thinking only of staying warm on a slightly cool day. In retrospect, I apologize to anybody who might have read this shirt, seen me with my particular dog, and thought that I was being boastful. I assure you I was thinking only of my health, and not about my singularly talented dog.

The run, meanwhile was fine. Chillier, still, than I thought it would be, but we made good time. After the run, my spouse and I had dinner with friends, went to a poetry reading, and hung out with friends until very very late.

*     *     *

Saturday morning 3.4-mile out and back (40:02). The crapradoodle was absolutely not in the mood for a run this morning. She'd been begging to get out of the house, but all she wanted to do was crap and sniff, sniff and crap, all along Columbia Road. Also, I finished off my lamb shank for breakfast, and, maybe, I am too old to get up early with the kid after staying out late with friends, so I also partly blame myself for an awful run. But I made it out and back, so, I suppose, that's better than no run at all.

*     *     *

I thought it would be fun today to combine a hill workout with mile repeats. I've never actually done this workout before, so today was mostly about searching for a goal to set. I ran downhill (7:42), uphill (8:10), down (7:45), up (8:29), down (7:44), and up (8:26).

I think a fun goal for this workout would be to run each mile at a (7:45) pace. I don't know why that sounds fun or if it would even be scientifically useful or not, but I think I will try it. I had a hell of a headwind running uphill today. I was lucky enough to go for my run just as a snowstorm was blowing into my fifty-degree afternoon. I say this only to point out that I think I should be able to drop my uphill times considerably on a calm day . . . I suppose I benefited from the tailwind on the way down, but I'm not willing to think too hard about that just now.

Meanwhile, the crapradoodle says, "hi."

 

Eleven Day Tally 

Thursday: 8.0
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 15.3
Monday: -----
Tuesday: 5.1
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 6.1
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 6.0

Previous:116.4 miles
Year To Date: 123.2 miles.

Running Days: 23
Days off: 6

Windless Sprints

So, eh, whaddayacall'em: quarter mile repeats with a quarter-mile recovery. I did the first four at 10.0 mph (6:00 minute pace), then seven at 10.5 mph (5:42 minute pace), and one at 12.0 mph (5:00 minute pace). Sprints, I call them, is that right? I mean I don't know if a six-minute pace has ever been a sprint before, but it's been a long time since I've done that kind of workout.

Oh, on the treadmill, though, so, I know, it was cheating. Still it was lots of fun. I always loved speed workouts in high school. I believe I was much faster then, but what is speed when age is involved?

-- you know how they say time goes faster as you get older, right, because when your five, a year is a full fifth of your life, and when you're forty, a year is only one fortieth --

So, maybe I'm actually much faster now that I'm twice my high school running age. If that's at all confusing, don't worry about it, you'll understand when you get to be my age . . . and if you're older than me, well, time makes fools of us all.

Eleven Day Tally 

Sunday: 3.4
Monday: 7.0
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 8.0
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 15.3
Monday: -----
Tuesday: 5.1
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 6.1

Previous:110.3 miles
Year To Date: 116.4 miles.

Running Days: 20
Days off: 6

Running advice: (this might be a repeat, but) run like hell.

Crapradoodle 3 - Jackson 0

And, then, just like that, my maintenance run today was over. I ran my 3.4 mile loop (40:01), while my crapradoodle set a new record with three craps! Astounding -- they said it couldn't be done, but my medium size fuzzball cut three big-dog sized deuces en route to our slowest maintenance route ever. Way to go crapper!

I thought about some really cool running stuff to post during the run, but the dog just kept crapping, and I was wondering if at some point she would simply cease to exist. I'm certain, had Kafka run today's workout with us, he would certainly have given up on "The Hunger Artist" and written instead "The Crapping Dog," and we would have followed the narrator through an adventure of high lyricism and magical narrative. Moral of the story: I forgot everything else.

Year to Date: 110.3 miles. Already posted the 11-day tally once today, and I don't want to take up all the Internet's space with my obsessive compiling.

Three Day Post: Off, Too Much Maintenance, Other Stuff

In his book, On Writing, Stephen King writes:

I used to tell interviewers that I wrote every day except for Christmas, the Fourth of July, and my birthday. That was a lie. I told them that because if you agree to an interview you have to say something, and it plays better if it's something at least half-clever. Also, I didn't want to sound like a workaholic dweeb (just a workaholic, I guess). The truth is that when I'm writing, I write every day, workaholic dweeb or not. That includes Christmas, the Fourth, and my birthday. . . . And when I'm not working, I'm not working at all, although during those periods of full stop I usually feel at loose ends with myself and have trouble sleeping.

I took Monday off, because I had scheduled Monday off, because I always take the day after a long run off, because Runners' World magazine has always told me the most important workout of the week is the day you take off. But I didn't like it.

That is another thing that has happened in keeping this journal: by keeping track of what I'm doing, I miss running when it's not around. It was probably wise to take a day off -- 15.3 miles is my longest run since May? (I think) and probably the second or third longest of my life -- a day off seems more than reasonable. But the commitment to run has become a lifestyle. I feel the urge to get out there every day, even when I've already determined to take a day off.

Which, I suppose, makes the day off all the more necessary: to remind me how important the run is each day.

The consistency which this journal has inspired in me has also lead to a healthier lifestyle at large. I'm not drinking as much. I'm eating more veggies and smaller portions. (Let me be clear about this: I have never much believed in moderation, and I hate to find a Tupperware for food if there's only a few more bites . . . I'm an eater. I'm a drinker.) My intent, in running, is not to shed pounds. Truly, it's not. Nor am I at any risk of wasting away to nothing (I think according to the standard Body Mass Index chart, I'm still twenty pounds overweight)*. But a healthy lifestyle encourages a healthy lifestyle.

I remember a similar experience in college. I watched as my peers, daily, skip classes according to how important they deemed each session, and watched as they struggled with homework or failed tests accordingly. I, on the other hand (okay, I'm self-aggrandizing, but, recognize, I also acknowledge the dweebiness of my self-aggrandizement), went to every class. I was never a great student for a number of reasons, but I always did all the work -- I mean (the dweebiness should reach maximum capacity by the end of this sentence, then return to regular levels for the next paragraph), if I'm gonna spend all that time in class, I might as well do the homework, right?

I'm still gonna eat ice cream from time to time. I'm not giving up an occasional beer. But if I'm gonna go out into the world nine out of ten days, I might as well hold off on thirds this evening . . . unless I really want them.

*     *     *

Tuesday: I ran maintenance on the treadmill, while my daughter had basketball practice at the rec center. My maintenance pace is still 6.7 mph (8:57 minutes per mile), and that feels fine. My maintenance runs are typically around 3.5 miles. Today, I ran my maintenance pace, but added in four quarter mile repeats at increasing intensity. I don't know why . . . probably because I felt stupidly good, so good I felt young again, I guess, young enough to be stupid.

It was a bad idea, but I ended up running 5.1 miles (42:00) and feeling pretty good about it. There is something awful in store for anybody whose bad ideas begin working out. Remind me to watch my ass in coming weeks.

*     *     *

Tonight: maintenance. I'll take the crapradoodle with me to insure a reasonable pace. Oh, sure, because I love her, too, and think she deserves some exercise, too, or whatever.

Eleven Day Tally

Friday: ------
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 3.4
Monday: 7.0
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 8.0
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 15.3
Monday: -----
Tuesday: 5.1

Previous:101.8 miles
Year To Date: 106.9 miles.

Running Days: 18
Days off: 6

*Is there a doctor in the Internet? I'm pretty freaking healthy, and, according to BMI, I'm borderline obese . . . what's up with that.

Another Eventful Long Run

I had planned today to do some work in the morning, have a proteiney lunch and run for two hours and twelve minutes -- I thought it would be good to add ten percent to my long run, see what happens. But stuff comes up. My morning got swallowed by a world outside our control, and my afternoon got filled with details.

Because we've had an ice storm on since late Friday, I wanted to spend my run in the rec center. Even though it was a long run, and I dreaded spending 132 minutes on a treadmill, I preferred this notion slipping on ice and breaking my ass.

What I didn't know was that the rec center closes at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday. In fact, I was seven miles into my run before the P.A. kicked on and told me I had fifteen minutes to finish up. Ha! I told the stupid Pa, nobody can run an hour and twelve minutes in fifteen minutes, but then I remembered that's what naysayers always said about the 4-minute mile. Still, in light of my recent boastfulness about being injury-free, I decided to try it when I'm in better shape.

At any rate, I got 8.5 miles (1:16:20) on the treadmill. Then I drove home and ran my 3.4-mile maintenance loop in reverse (31:04) and then ran it again (30:23). For a total of 15.3 miles (2:17:47). I'm pretty sore, but I suppose the idea of a 4:00:00 hour marathon is more reasonable every 9-minute mile I add to the long run.

I mean, look, I know I didn't face any terribly trying adversity today, but I did have a series of rather interesting setbacks. And I feel good about myself this evening. I would like to have run my entire run warm and dry inside at a 6.7 mph pace, maybe sipping occasionally from a water fountain. I didn't want to stop in the middle of my run to drop of Legend of the Sea and a Spongebob Squarepants movie. I didn't want to stop again for a gallon of milk or stop again to change into outdoor clothes, though, yes, once I stopped I wanted to stay stopped. I dig it. None of these things is a deal breaker on its own. But I'm happy for myself that I made it through this run and I expect anybody who's read through this post might be happy for me as well.

Well, thank you. I'm happy for you, too.

Eleven Day Tally

Thursday: ~13.0
Friday: ------
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 3.4
Monday: 7.0
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 8.0
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 15.3

Previous: 86.5
Year To Date: 101.8 miles.

Running Days: 17
Days off: 5


I think I'll take a bath on my day off. That will be pleasant.

Part I of a Three-Day Post

Friday:

I dragged the crapradoodle for the 3.4 mile maintenance loop (~36:00) at around 29 degrees. Today, I started to answer some of yesterday's questions, or, at least, I started answering some of the huge sweeping questions of my life, and the answers reminded me that I had asked myself some questions the day before, and . . . you know what, here:

With all of my writing classes, I have a number of suggestions that I give them, regardless of the caliber of writing or the objectives of the class: if I wants to be a better writer, for instance, I have to sit down, everyday, and write; I have to read; I have to learn grammar (despite how much I disliked learning it in sixth grade); and, a lesson that makes them all uncomfortable, I can't lie to myself.

Those same rules apply to running: run (or cross train) every day, unless, of course, you have a scheduled day off. In which case, you take a decided, scheduled day off: and when you rest, get good rest.

Writers have to read, runners have to recover: this is the least good analogue in the series, but if a runner runs a hard run and doesn't eat at least a decent meal . . . the gains, I would guess, will be discouraging.

Grammar: form. I take some time on each run to work on my stride (it has been too long my whole life, but continues to shorten) and my breathing (which has always been uneven and choppy).

Don't lie to yourself. That's the answer I told myself on my run today. A lot of young writers tell themselves they write best under pressure, so they put everything off until the last minute. A lot of young writers tell themselves they write best with loud music or while they're watching The Daily Show or while they're cooking. While I am certain that there are a couple of procrastinating, headbanger, multitasking writer-chefs in the world, my guess is that most of us are like me, and maybe write one crazy good thing under bizarre circumstances, but, for the most part, we write like we run, better with a sustained consistent effort, with a schedule, by ourselves, as we focus on running.

But what about the running questions: okay, the same principles apply, I think. Should I start pushing for a faster pace, how much running can I add each week, how hard should I push? "Well," the answer came to me, "don't lie to yourself." I'm the only person who knows whether I'm hurt or injured. I'm the only person who knows whether I worked too hard yesterday such that I should not push very hard today or whether I'm just feeling tired because I stayed up too late watching Downton Abbey. I'm the only one who can decide whether it's going to hurt my run to eat a second brat at midnight or have a handful of peanuts.

Some runners have trainers or coaches. Most of us just take ourselves through the paces, getting good and bad advice from friends and fellow runners (not to mention strangers who, invariably, know more about our health than we know). So should I then set my mile-repeats goal for 6:15? At this point, I'm saying yes. I don't have any major creeks or soreness. I'm not pushing myself to injury. If I were to say I didn't want to continue improving my time, I think that impulse could easily be traced back to my being lazy. So, for now, I will continue to increase my distance and intensity. Maybe tomorrow I'll change my mind.

Saturday:

I ran four miles on the treadmill today (34:00) -- most of the time, I ran an 8:57 pace, but I did increase the intensity five or six times for a minute or two. I didn't want to tax my body too much, but I did want to get my heart rate up at least a little. I think it was a good idea.

What wasn't a good idea today? Eating six Jammin Jalapeno chicken wings at the Restaurant Whose Name Should Not Be Mentioned for lunch. Well, that wasn't a terrible idea in and of itself, but couple with the fact that I chased those wings with six of their hottest Habenero chicken wings: all the events of lunch, taken together, were not the best pre-run meal I've ever eaten.

Still, I made it through the workout. Nobody around me suffered for my lunch, but . . . well, my insides were not thrilled with me. So while we're on the topic of don't lie to myself: I need to make better choices for pre-run meals.

Sunday:

Long run this afternoon, probably on the treadmill, given the ice storm of the last couple days. Just a note, though: a bad pre-run meal decision can have effects the next day as well.

Eleven Day Tally

Monday: 8.4
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: ~13.0
Friday: ------
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 3.4
Monday: 7.0
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 8.0
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 4.0

Previous: 79.1

Year To Date: 86.5 miles.

Running Days: 16
Days off: 5


I'll post again after the long run.

Mile Repeats Are Good . . . But Are They Good Enough?

Yesterday, I had a tempo run. Am I using that word right? I went to the rec center, stepped on the treadmill, ran a warmup mile (8:57), took off my warmup clothes, ran another warmup mile (8:57), uptempo mile (6:22), (8:57), (6:22), (8:57), (6:22), (8:57), plus two .1 mile kicks (5:00 pace). Phwew -- I'm glad I'm writing this, because I don't think I'd understand it if I had to read it. It's like all the worst parts of Calculus crash up against the book of Revelations.

Again, I'll preface this conversation (mid-post preface) by reminding us all I was on a treadmill, and was, therefor, cheating in a sense. But I felt pretty great, really. Those are the fastest mile repeats I've run since high school -- half my life ago, holy crap! -- and I am pleased with the times.

My question for myself when I got home: did I run them fast enough? I felt great. I taxed myself. I pushed my limits. But, if I recall from high school sports, if you don't puke or earn some kind of injury -- heel spurs, hip flexor, ITBS, shin splints -- well, you're hardly an athlete at all.

Of course, in a sense, I jest, but how does one know if one pushes hard enough? I often imagine myself hooked up (like Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV) to the Russian version of NASA mainframe as it measures my systolic and disystolic pressure every second of every day, but I think that kind of observation might be above my pay grade.

I jest, but how is a runner, a common folk, to know if she or he pushes hard enough? In fact, am I getting too competitive, even now? Should I just leave the run at: felt great, do it again in ten days, or should I set a goal for a 6:15 mile pace? I have been running for years without a log, which means, in part, that I haven't really been tracking my progress; I've been setting random goals and achieving them or forgetting them; I've been running intuitively, willing to back away from any pace, less aware of my body. Now, I'm paying more attention, running more often (largely as the result of this blog), and pushing myself harder.

Is that a good thing? I dunno.

If I do have a 5K goal, it's to get in under 20:00 sometime soon, and, if time still works the way it did when I was younger (though I don't think it does), a 6:22 pace should be just about right if I can maintain it during a race. I really don't want to get injured. I've often read that in training, one should not increase one's workout by more than 10% each week, but is that just mileage or is that time or is it any combination there of? Calculus* -- why do you forsake me?

I suppose, the bottom line is that any good running routine requires a delicate balance of listening to your treadmill and listening to your body. So I'm going to go on like this with a maintenance run today and tomorrow and a long run Sunday (hopefully outside), pushing hard when my knees say it's okay and backing off, even if my watch scolds me.

Eleven Day Tally

Monday: 8.4
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: ~13.0
Friday: ------
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 3.4
Monday: 7.0
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4

Thursday: 8.0

Previous: 71.1

Year To Date: 79.1 miles.

Running Days: 14
Days off: 5

Stretching note: okay, I pulled each foot up to its accompanying butt cheek twice in between mile one and mile two. So if I get injured at this point, I can blame it on God or Somebody Else. Naysayers, satisfied?

*Also, yes, I know that's not really what Calculus is. Thank you very much in advance to any smarty-pants reader who wants to point that out.

Photocopying on the Run

Ran the 3.4-mile maintenance loop again today (28:14). Backwards, same as yesterday. Stopped by my office to email material to my creative writing class. I would have preferred a different maintenance run, given that I ran this one yesterday, but my students needed me. There I went. To the rescue. Mile repeats tomorrow.

Eleven Day Tally

Sunday: ------
Monday: 8.4
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: ~13.0
Friday: ------
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 3.4
Monday: 7.0
Tuesday: 3.4

Wednesday: 3.4

Previous: 67.7

Year To Date: 71.1 miles.

Running Days: 13
Days off: 5

Did I Just Enjoy a Maintenance Run?

I ran my 3.4 mile maintenance loop (28:58) last night, unburdened by dog, burdening no dog. It was warm enough to run in shorts, but not much warmer. I can't remember feeling so good on my least-favorite of runs. I was sore from the day before's hill workout, but I felt smooth and strong. My pace was faster than usual, but I didn't feel as though I were pushing harder. I ran a few short (~minute~) uptempos, and they felt good. I'm believing more every day in the sustained, consistent effort.

I've been a fan of running three quality workouts every ten days for years, but have often found myself skipping the days in between, because I'm too busy. That also allows me to push the quality workout back a day, such that soon I'm running a 14, 15, 20 day cycle. Not only was I seeing no gains, I was barely able to maintain. Though I wanted to run a 5K, a 10K, a half marathon, I never knew from week to week what kind of shape I'd be in -- and the fluctuations were severe.

For a little over a month now, I've maintained. I've missed a couple of days, but, truthfully, no many, and I feel more like a runner than I have since, well, high school. I am going to run some races in the spring, I'm sure of that, but, again, that's never been the goal . . . the running is the goal, getting out there everyday is the goal, fulfilling my daily obligations is my goal. If I shed a few pounds, that's good. If I drop a few seconds from my race results, that's fine, too.

*     *     *

Meanwhile, a friend posted an article from Runner's World on facebook yesterday. I love that magazine. I subscribed for two years. I don't read the journal word for word, but it's really great to have a community of like-minded folks vindicating your efforts, even if they'll never meet you.

Eleven Day Tally

Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: ------
Monday: 8.4
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: ~13.0
Friday: ------
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 3.4
Monday: 7.0


Tuesday: 3.4



Previous: 64.3

Year To Date: 67.7 miles.

Running Days: 12
Days off: 5

Tonight another maintenance run: I'll probably take the dog.

Lancaster III: And a Note on Stretching

Ran Lancaster Hill (.4 miles) eight times again. Didn't realize it had only been a week. I guess that means today was supposed to be a speed workout, but I ran hills in stead. My bad. First, results:

January 16: Times: (3:14), (2:57), (3:01), (2:53), (2:57), (2:51), (3:00), (2:52). Average: (2:58). Mean: (3:02) +/-12.

January 09: Times: (3:04), (3:11), (3:12), (3:03), (3:03), (2:57), (2:58), (2:59). Average: (3:03). Mean: (3:05) +/-8.

December 19: Times: (2:59), (3:09), (3:11), (3:00), (3:10), (3:00), (3:06), (2:57). Average: (3:02). Mean (3:05) +/-6.

Results first, because one of these things is not like the other ones . . .

If I have a goal on this run, it's not so much for a specific time (though, for right now, an average of 2:55 is near on the horizon I hope), but I would like to get my mean very close to my average, and have my pace +/-3. Also, I'm only vaguely confident that I'm using "mean" correctly. Maybe I'll look that up.

What did I do so wrong, so early, on today's splits? I had a long walk before my run, and thought I had a decent warmup, but, clearly, I needed something more before I started my hills. Maybe I'll throw in a few short bursts to my warmup for future runs.

Also, I started controlling my breathing much better as I went . . . the importance of good breathing can never be exaggerated.

I was still a touch sore from Thursday's long run, which might have been part of the problem: I might need to loosen up. Which implies stretching. I haven't stretched for, hell, eight years. And I have only one objection to stretching as a workout supplement and aid -- but it is, you'll agree, a very good objection: I don't wanna.

Can stretching be any boringer?

No, it cannot. If it got any less fun, we would just go ahead and cancel the Olympics, because nobody would join teams, because coaches who insist on stretching (aka: all coaches) can bite me, and by extension, bite us, by whom I mean everybody who would be weeping in their gym socks from boredom if stretching got boringer.

I suppose I'm begging for an injury by not stretching and running in the cold and running fairly hard. And, certainly, everybody will look very forward to tsk, tsking the hell out of me when I finally do pull something . . . well, shame on you: making fun of a guy who just pulled something. I guess we know who's the truly poor sport here: the maker-funners, not me. I just need a bag of ice. Well, at least, that's what we'll be like when the time comes.

Still, I've been thinking about it. Might help me run better if I'm limberer. Though my boredom tears are certain to slow me down. It's a classic catch 22.

Eleven Day Tally

Friday: 7.5
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: ------
Monday: 8.4
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: ~13.0
Friday: ------
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 3.4

Monday: 7.0

Previous: 57.3

Year To Date: 64.3 miles.

Running Days: 11
Days off: 5

Remind me to tell you what I've been thinking about marathons lately. Some other time.

Maintenance Days

Friday: off.

Saturday 3.4 mile maintenance loop: 35:00, dragged by crapradoodle.

Sunday 3.4 mile maintenance loop: 37:30, dragging crapradoodle. The things she must eat before these runs . . .

It's been cold. I should be going over to the rec center for these runs, but that seems to add twenty minutes of driving every time I go, and I'm opposed to that for a number of reasons. Primarily, it feels like a waste of my very important time, but also, our family has put less than three hundred miles on our cars since November, and that ain't bad.

Tomorrow, I have either a hill workout or a speed workout on deck. If it's warm enough, I'll run my hills. If it's too cold, I'll go inside, find a treadmill, and run very fast. Maybe half miles. Maybe quarter miles.

Friday: 7.5
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: ------
Monday: 8.4
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: ~13.0
Friday: ------


Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 3.4

Previous: 50.5

Year To Date: 57.3 miles.

Running Days: 10
Days off: 5

Two Hours, Twenty Degrees, Stuff Like That

One of my favorite things about the long run is that so much can happen. I set out last night for a two-hour run. It had been a long day (I get up at 6:00 a.m., start working as soon as I pour a cup of coffee, and I finish teaching at 5:00 p.m.), but we all have long days. I hit the pavement at 5:25 and got home again at 7:30.

Getting out of the house is often a hell of a thing for me: between the grading, the prep, the letters of recommendation, my own writing, spending time with the kids, watching Caprica with my spouse -- there's always something else immediate and pressing that tries to keep me inside.

Last night, for instance, I was hungry. The kids were cooking pizza. I thought about eating pizza and playing Nintendo with them for a bit, taking my long run the next day. I had to practice some pretty serious discipline to grab some peanuts and get my feet moving.

I started just before dark on a breezy, warm, rainy January day. There's a spot on the bike trail where four white-tail deers stand and look at me, as if to say, "Want an ear of corn?" They were there last night. The rain picked up, really started soaking me, and I hadn't eaten enough peanuts. So I stopped by my office where I keep another jar of peanuts and several small boxes of raisins. Forty minutes into my run, I had this little snack and thought, I can get home in twenty minutes; an hour run's respectable; I can grab a slice of pizza . . ., but I pushed through.

It's that middle third of a long run that often gets me. That's also part of what I mean by "Running for the Middle" -- the first forty minutes is nothing, little more than a maintenance run, and the final forty minutes is often accompanied by elation or, at least, a sense of accomplishment -- a good kind of hurt. But those middle forty -- those moments are filled with the fear that I'm never going to get home; my work is piling up; the kids are growing up without a father; the crapradoodle will have run away and bit somebody or joined a circus . . .

I made my turn on the bike trail at close to 80 minutes and felt great -- forty minutes to go; I had worked out the creeks in my calves and hips; I had built up a sweat; my breathing was under control; my pace (9:00 min/mile) was exactly what I wanted. I made the turn for the final forty, and the wind I hadn't realized was at my back hit me full on in the face. The rain, I swear, was just this side of icicles. My shirt spoke out loud to my nipples: "Ha! You thought you were chapped before you made the turn.

I ran through town to get home. I passed a bank at 7:03, twenty-five minutes from home. By this time, the temperature had dropped twenty degrees, and I was feeling it. My forearms had gone numb -- I hadn't dressed for this weather -- and I thought about stopping by a friend's house to borrow a pair of socks for my hands. My long sleeve shirt had lost its efficacy when it became a crackling sheet of ice.

Ever read "To Build a Fire"?

The cold of space smote the unprotected tip of the planet, and he, being on that unprotected tip, received the full force of the blow. The blood of his body recoiled before it. The blood was alive, like the dog, and like the dog it wanted to hide away and cover itself up from the fearful cold.

I thought about that just then.

At this point, I must have looked pretty doofy running along State Street shaking my arms above my head to get blood flowing out of them and then below my waist to get blood flowing into them and then clapping and rubbing my hands, and squinting because, you know, those icedrops, all the while listening to my nipples cutting holes in my t-shirt.

I ran like this passed businesses, the grocery store, restaurants, frat houses, the yoga studio, and back to the top of the hill. At home, I ran my hands under cold water while clapping and rubbing them and took my shower. I stood next to the heater and put an Angry Birds bandaid on each nipple. I ate another snack and drove through the snowy slush to catch the last lines of the fiction reading I had given up for the run.

Unlike our hero from the Jack London story, I was never in any great peril, my peril was much less perilous (I've been thinking of Monty Python today, I guess), because I could have crawled into a gas station or knocked on a friend's door, but the long run is about the closest thing I have to an adventure these days. I like the way it tests my limits, asks me to do things I wouldn't normally set out to do. I like the way I change and the world changes with me while I'm running. It's not a superhuman distance; I'm not fooling myself into thinking I'm doing anything noteworthy. The long run is a different distance for all of us, but I do think it's the crown jewel of my ten-day cycle, not because it's the most important workout for my training, but because it shows me that I can do more than I thought I could do two hours earlier.

Friday: 7.5
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: ------
Monday: 8.4
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: ~13.0

Friday: ------

Previous: 37.5

Year To Date: 50.5 miles.

Running Days: 8
Days off: 5

Is it a psychological thing (some folks like to call it a dysfunction, I like to call it a thing) that on days that I have a run planned, I don't want to run, but days I have off, I want nothing more than to grab another dozen miles?

First Negative Splits of the New Year

I dragged the crapradoodle along the 3.4 mile out (22:30) and back (17:30) this afternoon. This is one of the few workouts where I actually get to employ the Jackson Principle (run uphill first), because we live at the top of a hill. We have to run the crest (is that a real word related to hills?) and head up the next hill over which is at least a little bit taller.

So that's part of the reason the out was so much slower. Another part was the crapradoodle living up to her name.

Another part was bumping into a friend who also had a dog on a leash (well, we use a ratchet strap, but you get the picture). So, while our dogs barked and growled and stood on their hind legs, my buddy and I stood around yelling, what? what? what's that? how you doing? what? how's the thing? great! great? great? great! what? I said, what? and the dogs kept barking and slavering, what? are . . .? no, go head, no you, no, what? beer? see you Friday. Okay, take care. So, in case any body's wondering, I have plans now for the weekend.

The run was rainy, but not as cold as 11 January could be. I am still terribly sore form Monday's Mile Repeats, and I am still trying to figure how to sneak in a two-hour run tomorrow, but that's the past and the future, those two wily moments just outside of my control.

Friday: 7.5
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: ------
Monday: 8.4
Tuesday: 3.4
Wednesday: 3.4

Previous: 30.7

Year To Date: 37.5 miles.

Running Days: 7
Days off: 4

Tallying is the best. I get to use my abacus

Multitasking, Disappointment, and the Future of Running

Maintenance Loop (3.4 miles) pulled along by crapradoodle (35:25). I'm sore from yesterday's run, but it was good to get and cycle some of this caffeine out of my system.

Couple quick good things: my oldest offspring needed me to pick a phone charger up from his dorm to give to my # 2 offspring (sorry about the designation, Sam -- them's the brakes). His place is only about a tenth of a mile out of my run, so I made his dorm a stop on my way. I'm not always a fan of multitasking, but when I can eliminate a drive (even a short one) or do someone a favor (even a little one), while I'm out for a run (especially a maintenance one), it makes me feel good.

Second thing: we (big offspring and I) crossed our signals, and I couldn't find him at his dorm, so I had to deal with that minor disappointment. I have to admit, when that didn't pan out, there was some kind of impulse inside of me, saying, "Screw it. Just walk home." But I finished the loop, and feel better for it.

Otherwise it was a pretty uneventful run.

I have, however, been worrying myself about Thursday's run. Tuesday and Thursdays are my teaching days this quarter. This means I get up at six and prep, teach, conference, grade until five, then pick up the littlest offspring, help around the house, and pic, up spouse at 7:30. Thursday is scheduled to be the 10-day long run. I've been worrying about fitting in a 10-mile run, especially when I should be eating dinner. It's this sort of thing, though, that runners simply have to figure out, I suppose.

Well. I'll keep you posted.

First Mile Repeats of 2012

I ran about 21:00 minutes to the rec center, so I could run mile repeats on the treadmill. It was too cold and dark, I felt, to run on the bike trail. Worried about injury, I ran to the rec center (21:00 minutes) in order to run three one-mile repeats.

Small diet tip today for anybody paying attention: Think ahead at lunch time. When you go back for your third plateful at the Indian buffet, maybe only fill it halfway. I didn't think ahead about it, and now we're all paying the price.

At the gym, I ran a 9.3 mph pace which put me real close to a (6:30) mile. I ran slowly until 10:00 minutes. Ran another (6:30) mile, slowly until 20:00, (6:30) mile, 30 seconds at (5 minute/mile pace), then slowly until I got 4.0 miles total. I know it's a treadmill, so it's something like cheating, but that's the pace I'm shooting for on a 5K. If I can maintain that pace, I'll hit 20:00 even.

I've been avoiding making goals explicitly, but a 20 minute 5K has been on my mind for, well, fifteen years, since the last time I got in under twenty. Of course, shortly after then, I took up smoking cigarettes and acting melancholy, so the dream kind of faded. Well, I'm healthier now, though still occasionally glum, and I suppose 20 minutes, as Cool Hand Luke once said, "It just seemed like a nice round number."*

I ran 22:30 on the way home, including (4:07) up Lancaster.

Friday: 7.5
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: ------
Monday: 8.4
Previous: 22.3

Year To Date: 30.7 miles.
Running Days: 5
Days off: 4

*Yes, I really did compare myself to Cool Hand Luke. Let's all take a deep breath, and step away from the blog before somebody gets hurt. More specifically, before someone hurts me.

Lancaster II, maintenance, Steelers

Another three-day post. I have to admit, I'd prefer to update everyday, but some days it seems I have to choose between writing a post and going for a run -- most of those days, I feel like the run is the better option.

So I took off Thursday with an ankle pain. It was a tough decision mainly because I couldn't figure out the pain -- for instance, I would never have gone to my high school coach and said, "I don't know; it just hurts" where my ankle is concerned -- but I took the day off, and I've had no problem with it since. Maybe high school two-a-day Jackson could learn something from overweight, adult Jackson who, so far this year has run the same number of days that he has taken off . . . a conundrum.

*     *     *
Friday, on the other hand, I ran my .4 mile hill repeats. I started off with a mile and a half warm up. In past hill repeats, I've felt myself trying to skip everything preliminary and jump right into the heart of the run. This has often lead me to burn out after three or four repeats. Times: (3:04), (3:11), (3:12), (3:03), (3:03), (2:57), (2:58), (2:59). Average: (3:03). Mean: (3:05) +/-8.

These are my times from December 19, the last time I ran this workout: Times: (2:59), (3:09), (3:11), (3:00), (3:10), (3:00), (3:06), (2:57). Average: (3:02). Mean (3:05) +/-6.

Not quite as good as the last time I ran it in any way, except I like the consistency of the final three repeats. I don't know what happened on the second two repeats: I was extremely tired for today's run. Not physically, nearly so much as there were moments when I am certain, I could have stopped in the middle of my run down the hill and take a nap by the side of the road.

Perhaps I should have had a cup of coffee right before my run. When I was a high school athlete, I would have viewed caffeine as a performance-enhancing drug. These days, when I'm out of gas, I have no objection to it. While I would like to, ultimately, cut back on my daily consumption of caffeine, taking some before a run, I have often found gives me the boost, sometimes the desire, to get a good workout, rather than a slow, slogging, hateful push. When I was first experimenting with caffeine on my runs, I tried soda a couple times . . . that lead to an awesome second mile. When the sugar wore off, all bets wore off with it.

*     *     *
Saturday, I left the crapradoodle at home and had a very nice maintenance run. I ran my 3.4 mile loop backwards (counterclockwise, that is, not looking over my shoulder). I ran 27:32, which is considerably faster than my regular maintenance loop. I don't know why, entirely, except with the dog, I do often stop for one of us to crap (I'm not pointing fingers). And I was feeling pretty good physically today, such that maybe I pushed harder than I would like.

Running the loop this way allows me to run my Lancaster Hill repeat once at my maintenance speed. I'd never timed it at this pace, but today I ran it in (3:52). I don't know if that's a good relative speed considering my repeats or a bad one. Just thought it might be interesting. The jury's still out on the issue.

A number of things came up yesterday, including the Steelers' 29-23 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos (I'm rarely a sports fan, per se, but I do enjoy watching the Steelers' playoff games), and I did not get out for a run. I've been strongly wanting to get this 10-day loop solid, but I've been struggling -- mostly with finding time. Given the time of year, I know, I should be working towards building a base for some more serious training in the spring and summer.

That being said, I should certainly get out there this afternoon for a tempo run.

Running Tally:

Friday: 7.5
Saturday: 3.4
Previous: 11.4

Year To Date: 22.3 miles.
Running Days: 4
Days off:4

This would make a beautiful chart of some sort!

To Run or Not to Run . . .

At some point during the day, my ankle started aching. It felt as though I had sprained it recently, but I can't think of a moment when I might have turned it or twisted it or even bumped it up against something.

So the question I faced when I got home a bit gimpy was: am I hurt or am I injured?

If I'm injured, obviously, I shouldn't run. If I'm hurt, traditionally, I push through it.

But the question branches into a number of other questions, starting with: if I am hurt, might I become injured if I run on it, or might running on it strengthen it, loosen it up? If there is any chance of injury, should I risk it to maintain, or should I wait until tomorrow to run my more intense hill workout? Am I simply looking for an excuse to take an unplanned day off? If I take an unplanned day off, what's to stop me from taking my more intense run off tomorrow? Am I an awful runner and a regrettable human being? Should I just stop running altogether and focus on my television watching?

Ultimately, I'm choosing to err (I think) on the side of caution. I'm giving myself the day off today, even though that means I've run fewer days than I've taken off so far this year, which shames me at least a little.

Additional variables that I took into consideration were these: it's dark; it's cold; there are small patches of nearly invisible ice in the world tonight; the sidewalks are uneven; drivers are awful; one dog barking on such an evening might cause me to stumble.

I guess the ultimate test of my dedication would be if we owned a treadmill -- then what would I do? But we don't, and I simply did not have time to make it to the gym tonight. So your guess is as good as mine . . .

Year to Date Tally: see yesterday's post.

First Maintenance This Year . . .

Yesterday was an elegantly designed day off: the day after a long run is my favorite day to take off running, though I did do a strong bit of walking, particularly up and down the several flights of stairs between my office and my classes -- very exciting. Ah, classes, yes: yesterday was also a great day to take of because it was the first day of classes, which meant, basically, a 14-hour day of prepping, teaching, and post-teaching beauracracy.

Today, though, I pulled the crapradoodle around the 3.4 mile loop, mostly in the dark, always in the very cold. It was a mostly uneventful dog, except for the irish setter that chased us into the streets -- a gentle breed, true, but tie up your dogs, folks; they're scary.

Strangely enough, this little run made me very sore. I feel a little spent. I'm not sure whether it's because I ran long Monday or because I took a day off or maybe it's just this cold weather -- hopefully it goes away soon.

Meanwhile, thought I'd keep a tally for the year to the best of my ability . . . we'll see what this ability adds up to:

I'm calling Monday 8 miles
Today: 3.4.

Year To Date: 11.4 miles.
Running Days: 2
Days off: 2

Ha! Tallies are fun!

Moderation on a Long Run

Here's another three-day post to catch us all up to speed on my mid-life running adventures. I took yesterday off from running. It was a planned day off, though it really should have been my tenth-day long run. I chose, instead, to spend some time with any kid who walked away from a computer for a few minutes, to tidy up the house a bit, to cook some sauerkraut, to nap on the couch -- it was a good day to rest.

The day before, New Year's Eve, as it happened, I let the crapradoodle drag me around my 3.4 mile maintenance loop (38:04) slow, slow, slowly. I was tired from a long year. That speed was just about all I could manage, all I wanted to manage, but that's fine for a maintenance run, I suppose. One of the biggest mistakes I've made too many times is feeling a desperate need to push too hard on my maintenance runs, leaving me pooped for my more intense runs that then are unfulfilling. I consider it a success in no uncertain terms that, as I approach middle age, I'm starting to recognize my limitations.

Or maybe I'm just wimpy. I accept that possibility as well.

Today, I met a friend for a brisk walk / run. He's trying to get back into running, and I had my long run slated for today, so I ran over to his house (20:00), ran and walked with him (30:00), and ran a winding way home (55:00) -- I don't know what the mileage is, nor do I particularly care. It was nice to be out (even if the weather was the worst so far this season), and it was nice to spend some time with my friend.

There was a moment after the walk / run that I considered bailing on the rest of my own workout, thinking that I could get home in twenty minutes and have more time for my other responsibilities of the day, and this was compelling. I think I could have still felt good about myself -- on the other hand, this would have meant that my long run for this week would have been little more than a maintenance run. I put the other stuff out of my mind and ran for as long as I could (I did, after all, have to give a kid a ride).

Still, I can't help but recognize in myself my tendencies to extremes -- if I can go for a run, I want it to be an insanely difficult run. If I can't go for a run, I want to eat six pieces of cheesecake and drink too much wine. One of the greatest challenges of my running (as well as writing, sleeping, working life) has been finding and maintaining moderation.

Post Script: Thanks, Z and M, for the cheesecake last night. My half of it was delicious.