Archive for June, 2011

Mmmm, this stuff is tasty!  The nice people at Zico sent me a case of their fabulous coconut water to try and have also offered to send a case to one lucky blog reader.

Before I get on to the details, what’s so great about Zico coconut water?  Let me tell ya…

It’s an excellent alternative to sports drinks, packed with electrolytes (potassium, magnesium, sodium, calcium and phosphorus) and in fact, one bottle contains 26% more potassium than a banana.  It’s also less acidic than sports drinks (which is why I don’t drink Gatorade, btw) and a 14oz bottle is only 60 calories, so it’s also a fabulous alternative to diet soda as well.  What it doesn’t contain is just as cool: no fat, no added sugar, no cholesterol and it’s gluten free.  And after a run, it hydrates better than water, so seriously…Zico coconut water is da bomb.

So how do you win your free case?

How To Enter:
Mandatory:
1. “Like” Zico’s Facebook page then come here afterwards to post a comment letting me know you did and…
2.  Answer this question in a separate comment: What’s the healthiest thing you do for yourself besides running?

NOTE: So everybody’s going to have at least 2 separate comments here, if you combine the above into one comment, you cut your chance of winning by 1/2.  And if you’ve only Liked their page OR answered the question, but not both, I’ll need to delete your comment before choosing a winner because it’s an incomplete entry.  Got it?

Bonus Entries:
+1:  Take the Zico “Pledge” and then repost your pledge here in a separate additional comment. (for every pledge, they donate to the Challenged Athletes Foundation, so it’s a nice thing)
+1:  Link this giveaway on your blog and let me know you did with an additional, separate comment.

Drawing ends Tuesday, June 21st at 9PM EST. I’ll update this page with the winner’s name and send an email to that lucky soul.

Other Rule Stuff:
Again, I’m so sorry for my international pals but this giveaway is restricted to US residents only.   Wish it wasn’t that way but alas, it is.

The winner will be chosen at random using my handy-dandy WordPress contest plugin “And The Winner Is”.  The winner has 48 hours to reply to my “you’ve won!” email but if I don’t hear from you within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!

Due to our first winner not replying to my email, the #2 winner is Bettina!  Congratulations and enjoy your Zico, it’s great stuff!

As you know, it’s been ages since I’ve done any continuous faster miles (MP, tempo or steady state), since January to be exact.  I’ve been curious to see what kind of shape I’m in and also, I’m ready to get this party started!  So yesterday was the day.  What happened was really good, though not what I expected.

Conditions-wise, it was a shoe-slosher: 75 degrees, dewpoint 69.  The run was 15mi with 3 faster (no shame in starting small) beginning at mile 5.  Because I’ve lost all sense of what pace to target, I wore my HR monitor with the intention of hitting 180 max.  This, because a typical tempo run for me hits 180MHR, sometimes a bit higher, so that’d put me in the ballpark.

To my semi-chagrin, I could not get my heart rate anywhere close and was only able to hit 170 in last few seconds.  The effort was there but the weather, coupled with months of easy running, had put a governor on my gas pedal.

Regardless, the outcome was significantly encouraging, even with the moderate pace:  3mi @ 7:21, 166AHR (79% HRR).  That’s a marathon pace heart rate*. And due to the cruddy weather, an elevated one, at that.  It bodes very well at this early stage.

Obviously I have a lot of work to do, gotta get that missing tempo gear back (hell, I couldn’t even hit Steady State, which is somewhat pathetic) but it’s just a matter of getting used to running harder again.  Good thing I started now instead of leaving it till mid-July when training officially begins.  Not that I’m worried in the least, I love this current period: no expectations and nothing’s a downer, it’s all “oh, this is new and different!”  Great fun.

The rest of the week
was uneventful aside from the heatwave/humidity suck that required early rising.  Mon was recovery, Tues-Saturday all started slower than usual, between 8:50 – 9:00 but by the second mile started a regular progression downwards.  Wednesday was a no-lookie-at watch day, wanted to see what paces my body would take naturally in those crappy conditions…turned out exactly the same as the other days.

Cutback Week In Review:
Monday: 8@8:29 (11 strides)
Tuesday: 10@8:09 (10 x 60 on/60 off)
Wednesday: 9@8:19
Thursday: 12@8:21
Friday: 9@8:16 (7 strides)
Saturday: 15@8:04 (w/3@7:21) and if anyone cares, 72%HRR for the whole run
Sunday: 9@8:08
Total: 72 mi (avg pace 8:14)

I take back “uneventful” – all those brackets…it’s starting to look like I’m training for something.    And the 4 single-digit runs were a novelty.  But while I enjoyed the cutback, I’m raring to get back to another big block of miles.

On that note, I’ll leave you with a nice article about cutback weeks that, in a well-timed turn, came out last week in the midst of mine.  Though, unlike Hall, I don’t credit the bible for my scheduling, I pulled it outta my ass.  Seemed to work just as well.

We’ll find out next week anyway, post-cutback should supply some extra energy.  Plus the weather’s supposed to be way better, too.  Woohoo!  Ciao for now, babies.

*Heart Rate Stuff
Here are marathon pace heart rates from a few of the Big Cats:
Pfitzinger: 73-84% HRR
Daniels: 73-86% HRR
Hadd: 84-87% HRR
HRR = Heart Rate Reserve, it’s an alternative to MHR (maximum heart rate) because it uses your resting heart rate as well, so it’s a more specific/accurate method.  AHR= average heart rate.

Also, I’ve posted this before, but for an excellent Excel spreadsheet for HR, grab Greg Maclin’s Heart Rate calculator.  It’s fabulous and includes the aforementioned Big Cats’ zones for all runs.  Also, the Daniels’ Excel Spreadsheet from Electric Blues is one of my favorite tools ever, it’s got everything but the kitchen sink in there.  If you already use both of these, you’ll probably want to download them again, they’ve both been updated.

I was intrigued by Chris McCormack’s book I’m Here To Win: A World Champion’s Advice For Peak Performance.  Since I enjoy only one sport and know very little about Triathlons, I thought it’d be a great education while getting to know a most impressive athlete, winner of 12 Ironmans and 7 World Cup Championships among his 200 victories.  I was also excited that the book was going to offer “Championship advice” since I’m a glutton for racing and training tips.

While I learned that “Macca” is truly gifted in his sport(s) to have achieved such an illustrious career, the one thought that popped into my head early on and stuck with me till the end was “what a douche”.

I really tried to remain neutral, thinking “Well, the guy is such an incredible athlete, of course he’s going to tell us over and over how great he is, because he is!” and “I’m just not used to Male Ego type sport books or something, that’s why I’m having a hard time.”  But the more I read, the more I realized it wasn’t my naivete or the fact that I’m female, it’s that he’s petulant, trash-talking and his secret to winning (since he admits his competitors are nearly identical when it comes to talent) is that he uses fine-tuned mental games to bring them down.

As he mentions, he’s a professional athlete, why shouldn’t he use every edge available?  I get that.  But the other guys don’t play that game, a game that starts during an interview, where he’ll compliment his competitor before planting a well-placed seed of doubt by honing in on a weakness, then talking up his own mastery of that very weakness.  He studies his competitors thoroughly to know exactly how to get through as insidiously as possible.

Mental games are also invaluable to his races as he says there were several he shouldn’t have won, but by getting inside his competitor’s head he basically psyched them out enough to win.  I know this sounds laudable and “all’s fair in sport” but the way he tells it, it just makes me dislike him.

As for the “Advice for Peak Performance” that I was looking forward to, the book includes several text boxes scattered throughout with the unfortunate header: Macca’s (W)insights.  One is a list for Avoiding Overtraining and includes “get plenty of sleep” and “listen to your body” and “listen to your coach”.   Another is Dietary Dos and Don’ts that includes “Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables” and “avoid empty calories”.  Truly brilliant stuff.  (cough)

On the positive note, he includes a 16-week skeleton training program that, if you’re a triathlete, you’ll find interesting.  Also tips specific to the sport.  And I did enjoy his tales of getting into triathlons, quitting his job and turning pro.

I could have done with less lists throughout the book, though, as he runs down each season’s wins along with how many flight miles accumulated, days away from home, etc.  Especially since there’s a thorough list of his wins at the back of the book in a Career Summary and yeah, we figure you travel a lot, you’re a pro athlete.

I fully admit that it’s probably my own preference for a tad more humility that colors my opinion of I’m Here To Win.  Plus the fact that I’m not a guy surely doesn’t help (I bet men will “get him” way easier than me).  But I yam what I yam and I didn’t care too much for this one.

I’m getting the hang of moving faster now, yesterday’s strides were much better.  Part of the answer was to stop thinking so much.  There are things I can easily correct as I run, like neck/shoulder tension or straightening my back, but there are some things like my hips or knees, that could use attention but I’m incapable of correcting on my own.  So it occurred to me that instead of focusing fruitlessly on such mysteries, I’d be better served simply trying to get from point A to B faster.  Easier said than done.

I tried the usual mental cues – imagining a bungee cord from my waist, reeling in imaginary racers, zooming to the pretend finish line.  None of them did anything for me, I still felt “inside myself”, too contained.

Then I came up with an alternate scenario, one that had nothing to do with the act of running. “What if I had to get someplace in a hurry because it was life or death? I wouldn’t think at all, I’d just run as fast as I could”.  So I imagined an emergency: the Blue Hovel on fire (which would be a favor more than a loss, but still, I don’t want my stuff burned up).  I even threw an imaginary pet into the mix.

As I executed my strides, I actually repeated to myself “The house is on fire! The house is on fire!”  Ridiculous or not (and it did make me chuckle), it got my ass moving faster.

Speed Workout-ette
Speaking of ass moving, today I did my first workout-type thing in about 6 months.  It was great fun.  I’m telling ya, sometimes taking a break from the same-old is exactly what you need to whet your appetite again.  I’m relieved that it’s working as planned because when I decided to eschew all things fast in lieu of easy running, I was a little afraid I’d never want to do anything “effortful” again.  It’s worked out perfectly though, I’m excited to get to it!

So this morning was a 10-miler with very comfortable pacing for the first 6 miles, then a round of 10 x 60sec. on/offs (1 min. running hard, 1 min. recovery).  I was pleased as punch with the workout, finding a 5K-ish pace from the get-go and covering a little over 1.5 miles at speed.  Nothing huge but a great start. I’m going to repeat it next week before adjusting anything – I don’t see a need to grow things weekly yet since I’ll be getting more “official” mid-July.  I am, however, considering adding an occasional little tempo run very soon.  Oh, the joy of moving toward training as opposed to wanting to hide from it.

My Hill-ettes
Someone posed the question on MRT a few months ago, “What is your favorite distance to run?”  At the time I said 9 miles because it takes me to the foot of Falls Bridge without having to go up the little hill, cross the bridge, then up the opposite hill for the return trip.  Yeah, I was lazy, I admit it.

I’m still lazy, but over the last 3+ months, since 6 runs a week are now double-digits (used to be 7 or 8 a month), I’ve gone over that bridge and back 134 times.  They’re only baby hills (you people with real hills would totally roll your eyes) but I make a point to push the pace on them almost every time.  I also have a two-block hill on the way home that I power up as well.

I’m convinced these extras are helping the whole and making my quads stronger – it’s certainly appreciably more than what I used to do.  Not that either of things approach proper hillwork, but until I get to that, I’m milking what I can.

There is one run that I’ve always considered to be my best, ever.  It was Sept. 6th, 2009, pre-Philly marathon; I was in the midst of Hudson’s Marathon 3 plan, feeling like Superwoman thanks to a new mileage peak and a ton of quality work that I’d been hitting dead-on from the start.  It was also my birthday and I’d just become a single gal again, freshly installed in the Blue Hovel, so I was feeling great that morning.

The workout called for 18 miles “Hard” (MP +10%) but my effort level and heart rate monitor agreed that 10% wasn’t a challenge so I had to speed up, and even then it never reached “Hard”.   Here’s the short blog post from that day if you care, kind of funny for me to reread it. (not to mention the mention of “upstairs” now that we know how that panned out)

Because it was so effortless and strong, it’s been the run I’ve compared all others to since as far as pace + distance + heart rate + apparent ease.  Of course, by the end of that month, I started deteriorating (the neighbor drama/sleeplessness/stress had begun) then I screwed up the marathon and afterwards enjoyed (cough cough) a 1½ year-long plateau.  That’s why this singular run has always stuck out as something special.

Flash forward to this past Friday night, I’ve started my Sunday blog post because I have no life.   I’m writing the “week in running” section and include this:

My warmup miles are getting slower and I’m just going with it.  This affects the average pace but que sera sera, I’m running within myself entirely.  It is somewhat conflicting to post my paces: I’m never going to run faster to make the weekly average be speedier but there’s undoubtedly an added layer of  self-consciousness, knowing the numbers will receive a public viewing.  I have had a couple fleeting thoughts of “Maybe I should stop posting my paces for a while” to remove the public element, but because this is such a basic experiment in higher mileage, I think it’s important to share it all.  I want you to see the truth of it.

So I guess what I want to say is, don’t be tsk-tsking if you see a slowdown for some runs.  It’s not an indicator of something wrong or problematic.  If not the weather, it’s probably me “letting” myself run slower sometimes.  Not that there’s been a real shift yet (or will be), but the 7:5x averages that were more common during the build are on the backburner for now and I’m cool with it.  Regression is not on the menu this season.  No way.

Now, this was prompted by a bad heatwave that finally broke on Thursday.  By Friday morning, I fully expected to feel frisky out there but I wasn’t, I felt the same as I did during the heatwave.  This was kinda disappointing but I also knew that it didn’t mean anything in the big picture,  it was just another run and what counts will be 3 months from now.  So I wrote it to say “allow me to suck, please”.

So for yesterday’s run, I had no expectations at all.  First off, I stepped on the scale and saw 123lbs, some of it due to a canned black bean sodium extravaganza the night before but still, 8 lbs over what I call my best race weight.  I don’t actually care much, I still look bitchin’ hot (hee) but I’m no wisp right now.  Secondly, it was 70 degrees, not bad at all but I figured it’d be the same as Friday’s run, just longer.

Nope.  It turned out to be the Best. Run. Ever.  It was easily the most comfortable 17-miler of my life and my fastest general aerobic run at any distance.  My only regret is that I didn’t wear my heart rate monitor, but it’s cool, I know my effort level and this was smooth sailing.

The run came out to 17@7:49 with the first mile at 8:20, the second at 8:01, then mostly 7:4x’s dropping to 7:3xs in the last 4 miles.  And it felt like butter.

Today was interesting too, there’s a huge international bike race going on where I run so lots of sights and sounds to soak up.  I was feeling kinda pokey, so doing around 8:3x’s.  But once I saw all those motorcycles, then the packs of racers and their support cars (major bike races are quite the parade!) I got excited and energized, my pace quickened and then I was back to 7:4xs and 7:3xs for the last few miles.   This time I was prepared though, I wore my heart rate monitor.  The result was kick-ass with the faster miles at 156 average heart rate (72%HRR).  The total run was 8:09/mi at 151 AHR (69%HRR).

Check this out: a year ago in similar conditions, a HR of 150 yielded an 8:50 pace!  Hell, just 2 months ago, on a day 15 degrees cooler with no humidity (today was 68 with 55 dewpoint…substantial difference for HR) I ran 8:10 avg. at 155 AHR.  Things are happening!

Legs
Since I’m documenting this period honestly, let’s talk about my gams.  While I haven’t had any pains or lasting niggles, there were a few days between last week and this where I was starting to “feel it”, like getting up from a chair, I’d be creaky.  And my first steps out of bed, while not painful, were stiff, though by the time I got to the bathroom it worked itself out.  I was beginning to think that might be status quo from here on in. (gotta pay for it somehow, right?)

Then a couple days ago, it stopped.  Took me a while to realize it, too; I got out of my chair, walked to the kitchen and was all “oh wow!”, then sat right back down to get up again, just to confirm. lol

Nevertheless, this coming week is a cutback week because, having done 4 of those big weeks in a row, it’s time.  I’m doing the real deal, cutting back 20% to around 72 miles.  On one hand, it’s a little frowny to see this smaller number after all those nice 9-0′s but on the other hand, 72 was my peak for Boston 2010.  When your cutback week = marathon peak week, you really can’t complain.

The Week As It Was
Monday: 9@8:18 (8 strides)
Tuesday: 16@8:23
Wednesday: 11@8:23
Thursday: 14@8:15 (6 strides)
Friday: 12@8:22
Saturday: 17@7:49
Sunday: 11@8:09
Total: 90 mi (avg pace 8:13)

Giveaway Winner
The lucky new ProSpeed owner is… matty!  Congrats, sir.
Thanks to all who entered.  I wish everyone could have won, you kids were so cute.  There’ll be another giveaway soon for a case of Zico coconut water, so you’ll have another chance to win something.

And now I’m off to hang with my friend Lara a bit while watching cute guys on fast bikes zoom around the park a few times.  Later, kids!

May turned out to be an OK month.  Nah, I’m fakin’…it was pretty damn great!  I hit a hefty monthly mileage PR and felt strong doing it.  Here’s the dirt:

376 miles
1 day off (May 1st due to the toe injury)
All singles
Longest run was one 17 miler
Big fun

I also made good on my threat this week about adding strides to a couple runs, which was most excellent.  Sure, I felt klutzy and dorky and ended up kicking myself in the ankles a couple times but ah, I needed that!  It’s been ages since I’ve run fast – I have to learn how again.  It was cool though, paying attention to all my body parts and deciphering what was going on, what needs relaxing, arms tighter-angled, etc.

Next week starts my casual speedwork/fartlek re-introduction.  Looking forward to it!

Sleep!
Every summer I complain about getting up early to run in the coolest part of the day.  A night owl by nature, it’s always been an issue getting to bed before midnight and because of this, I’d often be running (and living) on 5-6 hours of sleep.  No more!  I’ve had the most consistent sleep this week than I’ve had in a very long time, including two 8-hour nights that started at 9:30pm.  For me, this is amazing.

How’d I do it?  I took melatonin 6 days in a row.

I only ever used it sporadically before because I’ve always hated the idea of depending on a sleep aid, even if it is natural.  Last week though, I thought about it long and hard.  I reread information on melatonin and considered my daily training load and thought about the pros and cons. Ultimately, my conclusion over the dependance issue was this: Screw that shit!  I’ll take it every night if I have to. (turns out there are no cons anyway)

The thing is, I may have been able to get by on less when I was running 50-60mpw (though it was never a good thing) but now, more than ever, sleep is as important as the running itself.  Because the bulk of recovery only happens when you’re sleeping and the more you run, the more you require.  In fact, I should be targeting 9 hours but I’ll settle for 8.

I also switched brands of melatonin to one that’s a smaller dose but has me wanting to fall asleep as soon as I hit the pillow (it also has theanine in it, found in tea).  I do wake up a couple times during the night but I go back to sleep immediately and back to dreaming, so it’s a deep sleep.  Because the stuff is so cheap, I’m going to try a time-release one to see if it ends the waking, which is no biggie but would be nice not to.

Anyway, the weather broke yesterday so I have a respite from early morning wake-up calls and won’t need to take it every night yet, but it sure is nice having something that works dependably.

That’s it for now.  Have a great weekend and don’t forget the Skecher’s ProSpeed running shoe giveaway.  It’s simple to enter so by all means, please do!