Posts Tagged ‘intervals’

Had a satisfying speed session yesterday, 9.5 miles with 6 x 1/2mi@5K pace, 2min rec’s. My schedule originally called for 8 reps, but it was heat index of 80 and the pace would have suffered too much for VO2max, whereas with 6, I could keep it in the right neighborhood.

I did this a couple weeks ago in similar conditions, so I have something to compare it to (the one two weeks ago sucked, btw).  My workout was infinitely better yesterday, my splits dead even and I was in control throughout.  They also averaged 10 sec’s faster.

A couple reasons this workout was probably much better than two weeks ago is:
#1) My new fueling regime.  I ate nothing before the workout 2 weeks ago, figuring the previous evening’s food would tide me over (wrong!).  Yesterday, an hour before leaving for the run, I had a slice of whole wheat with peanut butter and 1/2 banana.
#2) I did those Ryan Hall leg drills before leaving the house.  (I’ve been doing the RW exercises every day but didn’t feel like getting on the floor yesterday)

Btw, I’m keeping my interval and tempo paces under my hat for a bit so I don’t feel pressured about any of the workouts.  I’ll return to reporting all the dirty details soon enough, but right now I’m in a transition period so mum’s the word.

I Love My Fancy-Ass Tanita Scale!
Got it on Monday, and of course, spent the day hopping on and off to see how the numbers changed depending on how close to meals, hydration level, etc.  Don’t worry, I’m not an obsessive weigher at all, but it is a new toy, so the entertainment factor was high.

Turns out the old scale was off by a little more than a pound which makes my weight from July 23rd when I started tracking, 123.  So  there’s the dealio today:

Weight: 119.4
Body Fat (averaged over 2 days):14.8%

Accuracy
Tanita says there’s a tolerance of +/-5% accuracy in their scales compared to DEXA testing, which is actually very accurate (.74% in this case).   Edit: Blogging pal Jaymee had hydrostatic testing done and found in comparison with that, the scales she’s tried are consistently 5 points higher for women,  making that 14.8% which I already thought was suspiciously low, to be 9.8%.  That’d be insanely low, knowing my pockets of fat (and the electrical current doesn’t reach the arms, just lower body), so I’ll stick with the scale number.  The measurement is for trends more than anything, anyway.

Whatever it is, it’s a pleasure after having the Omron handheld analyzer tell me I was 24% for over a year.  I knew it had to be wrong, but it still managed to mess with my head.  In the Omron’s defense, it takes its measurement through your arms so maybe my arm flab skewed the readings, though I have a lot of muscle there, too.  I’ll give it to my friend Lara and see what she gets.

There are a ton of additional stats I could share, like Metabolic Age, which puts me at 12 years old (12 is the lowest the scale goes, I’m sure it wants to tell me I’m a fetus, but can’t).  There’s also a BMR reading which is cool.  It’s more generous than the online calculators I’ve used in the past, and seems to fit better with the amount I actually eat/burn.

Dry Feet vs Wet
In the Racing Weight book, he tells you to moisten a towel before stepping on the scale to improve conductivity, but the Tanita FAQ only mentions that if you must wear nylons when measuring “…use a drop of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol on the foot pads to act as a conductor.”  Other than that, no mention of damp feet.  Some scales specifically ask for wet feet but since this doesn’t, I’m sticking to dry tootsies.

The Subject Of Food
Kristin, a wonderful blogger and smarty pants MIT student, made a comment in the last post that really hit home.  She said “I think your (and Jaymee’s) thoughts on weight are interesting because they sound so matter of fact and not emotional”.   This was pretty huge to read because I’ve spent the greater part of my life dealing with food as an emotional salve and going from fat to thin to fat again.   So I’m going to save this and more food talk for Friday because it really is a post a book unto itself.

So that’s about it for today.  Oh, if you find yourself in need of something to do at 8PM EST tonight, a reminder that I’ll be on Runners Round Table talking about running (or collapsing, lol)  in the heat.  Later, gators!

I got my copy of Racing Weight yesterday and am pleasantly surprised to like it as much as I do.   One thing that struck me (and confirmed my numbers from last year when I lost weight) was a study that found a body-weight increase of 5% reduced performance by 5% – which  coincidentally, is the amount I need to lose.  That’s major and does indeed confirm why I’ve been stagnating all this time.  Consider this: a 21 minute 5K – 5% = 19:57.

Also, this had my name all over it, “Excess body fat is also known to increase thermoregulatory strain during exercise, so by shedding fat, athletes can go faster without overheating.”  Boy, would I love a little help in that department.

Another great weight-related motivation was a post I read yesterday at Lauren Fleshman’s blog.  Btw, thanks Julie for turning me on to it, her blog is a truly fantastic read.  Lauren’s an elite runner with an engaging writing style who gives great advice, too.  Check out this entry, which is an excellent piece for anyone wanting to lose weight for running.

This really struck me, “…especially once I got to college and tended to carry an extra 5-8 pounds in the fall and winter.  Every year I would get beat by flash in the pan athletes, and it absolutely killed me.”  Now this gal is 5’8″ and 122!  So if 5-8 lbs got her beat by “flash in the pans”, then that’s just more confirmation of how that same amount of extra weight might affect a shorty such as myself.

Just remember folks, with all my blathering on the subject, it’s not just weight we’re talking about, but excess body fat, so if any of you apply this stuff to yourselves, please be healthy about this, don’t eat too little and do some supplementary exercises to keep your muscles strong.  They’ll only thank you for the trouble.

It’s In The Hips, Baby
Adam often supplies me with links to great articles on running mechanics.  This latest has to do with a conversation we had after I posted that gait video a few weeks back.  He suggested I “engage the hips more” and while I was all, “Oh yeah, ok, sounds great” I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant.  Then he sent me this article yesterday which made me a believer in the power of the hips.

The article has a link to RW for some hip exercises that are not only wonderful for getting your hips into the act, but are excellent for strengthening the lower back (bridges) and even address that hamstring injury I got last week, in particular, the last drill mimics the feeling I was going for in my LT workout before it tweaked – the lengthening that accompanies a stronger push-off.  I’m sold!  Did them today before my run and will keep on with them, too.

My Fancy New Air Popcorn Popper
I have to share this, because it’s too cool.  I hate microwave popcorn packets, they stink up the place and the taste is always a bit weird to me.  I used to have a special air popper bowl for the microwave but hadn’t gotten around to buying another.  Then I read that you can make air-popped popcorn in your microwave with a regular paper bag!

The bag has grease on it because for my first batch, I used a little oil, but then realized you don't need any.

All you do is throw in 1/4 – 1/3 cup of popcorn, fold over the top of the bag a couple times and stick it in the micro, you’ll have to experiment with time (mine takes 3:10).  No oil needed, it comes out perfectly!  Afterwards, I squirt some “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” spray on it with salt and yum.  A 1/3 cup makes a huge bowl, only 204 calories, 50 grams of carbs and 10 grams of fiber.  Yeah, baby!

Oh, and if you don’t have a bag, apparently you can use a bowl with a plate on top, though I haven’t tried it.  Just be careful when you take it out, it’ll be hot!

But it’s ok, nobody’s playing funeral music over here.  Besides, I think this is only the third quality session I’ve ever cut short, so I was due. Today’s fun was supposed to be 8×800@10k pace w/1min rec’s.

The hamstring injury had me nervous as it hadn’t completely left the building.  And while I’d said I wanted at least one perfect hamstring day before attempting this session, tomorrow and Sunday are going to be “feels like” high 80s by 6am, so it was now or never.  And it feels much better, so I thought it worth chancing.

When I left the house at 6:30am, it was “feels like” 82, deeming 10k pace a concept rather than an absolute – I just needed to manage 8 at “whatever”.  I had a 2.5mi warmup which included some strides, then I stretched the hamstring, jogged a bit more and began.

In the end, I completed 5 of them, the first 4 pacewise went 7:05, 6:59, 6:58, 6:58, then I gave the hamstring a long stretch which had the opposite effect as intended, making it announce its presence, so the 5th one fell in at 7:18 and at that point, it was time to pack it in.  Honestly, it was the hamstring, feeling cooked from the heat and a bad attitude.

On the bright side, I managed almost 18 minutes of effort-filled running, so it wasn’t a waste by any means, just not the most efficient bang for the buck.  But I feel better than if I hadn’t done anything hard this week.

Injury Reflection
I think I know how I got the hamstring injury in the first place.  It’s no secret I’m always on the hunt for improving my form and something I’d been playing with recently was stride length.  A couple sessions ago (the one before I strained it) I’d noticed that if I increase my pushoff and lengthen that back leg, I gained some speed.  The problem, I think, is that my hamstring wasn’t accustomed to supporting this exaggerated movement.   Live and learn.  That’s a potential byproduct of experimentation.

Pace or Effort?
There’s an interesting thread going on at MRT about whether you get the same workout running slower paces in hotter weather.  I’m of the opinion that you don’t get an equivalent workout in poor conditions.  Not to say you don’t get benefit, just that you get more improvement when you’re able to fire on all cylinders.

With this in mind, I don’t see myself having the outcome I want for the RNR Philly Half (aka Distance Run) in September, which is a PR.  So if you look at my At The Races page, I’ve removed the note “goal race” from that one and added the Philadelphia Half Marathon in November to the schedule.  It’s a tad slower course than the September Half, but I’ll have another 2 months to train and in cooler weather, so at least I’ll have a clue about where I stand.  Right now, I’m so mixed up with the sludge and my last races, that I don’t know what to expect.

But this is not a boohoo situation!  It’s a “try to see clearly and plan accordingly” type of deal.  I know good things will come, but it’s a matter of time.  This is all about discovery and realization and frankly, even though I whine a lot, I love it.  Yeah, I get frustrated not moving ahead the way I’d like, but running is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before – the way it unfolds is such a mystery.  It keeps us on our toes, gives us a menu of emotions to choose from and makes life exciting.  How many things can you say that about?

Not on my person…my shoes.  Or rather, a shoe.  It’s always one shoe, the right shoe, to be exact.  This time, my lovely Kinvaras are giving me a hotspot on my right pinky toe, so I’m going to give it a week, trading off with my Elixirs, and if my toe doesn’t get hardened to the rub, seam ripper and scissors, here I come.

I’ve been operating on my running shoes for quite some time now, so I thought I’d give you a tour of my previous operations so if you ever have a troublesome shoe, this might give you some guts to go in and make your own modifications.

The first shoes I ever chopped into were my Mizuno Inspire 4s.  Great shoes, except on the right one, the plastic trim was keeping the shoe tighter across my foot than was comfortable, so I took a seam ripper (necessary tool if you’re going to cut stitches), opened up the side of the shoe and trimmed off the plastic that goes down to the sole.  Worked perfectly and I did it for every pair I bought afterwards.

The next shoe I operated on were the Inspire 5s, though this time, in a different place.  I remember running in my first pair and doing hills and the knuckle of my big toe kept jamming on the pretty piping trim, though I didn’t realize it at the time, I thought I had a stress fracture (at the time, I thought every ouch was a potential stress fracture).  I suffered for about 10 days with my foot killing me, making donuts out of moleskin to protect the area, but it wasn’t till I sat down and thought about it, that I realized it was the damn trim.  So I took some scissors and snipped right though it; fixed it like magic, made more room for my foot and no more jamming.  Did that for each of the numerous pairs I had in that series.

Now with the Kinvaras, it’s a little more difficult because the rubber part that’s rubbing isn’t stitched, it’s glued, which means this’ll be another scissor job.  It’s always a little scary the first time you attack a pair of shoes, but since the alternative is not wearing them at all, it’s worth it.  And it’s not like you change the structure of the shoe with a snip or a cut, it’s just a small thing but it makes all the difference in the world. Still, I’ll give it a week and if my toe doesn’t get used to it, that white rubber bit is getting snipped.

Hot Speed
Oh summer, how I hate ye for runnin’.  I set my alarm for 6:15 so I could get out at 7 for a speed session (need my morning coffee first) but still got stuck in 78 degrees with 66 dewpoint.  The one treat I gave myself is instead of starting at 2.5 miles, I started at 1.75 (which meant less slogging home). Workout was the usual lately: 6x.5mi w/90 sec rec’s.

Took it by effort, averaged 6:46 pace, splits were 3:26, 3:21, 3:23, 3:22, 3:26, 3:24.  I refused to think about the pace as it related to any sort of race pace, focusing instead on the fact that I got points for doing it and finishing it and that if I’m racing this summer, I should get used to manning up.  I was satisfied when it was over.

And with that, have a fab weekend folks.  Great racing to those braving the elements and I’ll see you back here next week.

In the past, when I tried to change my heelstriking ways, I’d focus on my feet, aiming for a flatter landing.  After a while, I’d assume I had it all figured out until a photo would show me otherwise.  I suspect this false response happens because:  A) heel cushioning in shoes and  B) our heels only touch down for an instant, the rest of your foot is what grabs the road and pushes you forward.

For being a heelstriker, I never felt like I landed on my heels.  No wonder I couldn’t fix it…I couldn’t identify the problem to begin with, so eventually I gave up trying.

This time, however, I really feel the difference.  It’s been 3 days of running this new way, with only occasional switches to the old way as confirmation.  The old way now feels like I’m attached to a  Nordic Track – it’s that different.

Even more telling is the sticky area behind my knees.  My feet are rising higher towards my butt so my calves are touching my hamstrings.  This is also new and different.

Not Just Legs
Recently, I read a post on Letsrun about armswing that struck me as sensible and confirmed what I’d read before, that the forward swing is merely a recovery stroke and the backswing is what helps with momentum.  I lack a good backswing, never sending my elbow as far back as “real” runners do.

So in the last couple weeks, I’ve occasionally been visualizing a rope around my waist with 6″ hanging off each side, that I hold onto.  This keeps my arms from swinging too far in front while giving more play behind.  But most importantly, it opens my chest, which in turn affects the posture I’ve been trying to fix with core work, which is further affected by correcting the overstriding.  Nothing is isolated in this, it’s all working together!

Yesterday, I had a speed session in which I focused on form from start to finish.  It went well:  same as last week (9.25 mi with 6x.5 mi w/90sec rec’s) averaged 3:20s though it was hotter and way crappier dewpoint than last time, so I was pleased.  Concentrating solidly on form made the session go by pretty quickly, but I didn’t use the rope/arm visual because running fast naturally brings those arms up higher than a pretend 6″ of rope allows.

However, I did find something interesting in relation to arms with the new stride change:  You know that our arms coordinate with our strides naturally.  Now that my landing feels behind my body rather than in front, my arms naturally want to go back farther to match the legs.  So, the same way you can pump your arms harder to go faster, I was messing around with opening my backswing to lengthen the stride behind me.  I may be reading too much into this connection, but it has entertainment value.  More experimentation to come.

Video of Heel vs. Midfoot Before/After
This isn’t me but it might as well be – I recognize myself in the left frame completely.  An interesting thing to notice is the difference in ground contact time just as I’d described in the last post.  It’s clearly less in the right frame than in the left.  That’s my goal…less skiing, more flying.

Good interval session today, though it put me in my place as far as my current fitness level. I’ve been getting back into a speed head with those 8x.25mi w/1min rec. workouts, which are entirely useless as indicators of anything, though perfect for getting the machine primed, as it were.

Today’s workout, on the other hand, was as standard as they come: 6x.5 mi w/90sec rec’s.  I was aiming to match my 5K PR time, so shooting for 3:18s.

Started pretty good, 3:17,3:18,3:18 but then I lost it for the next three 3:22,3:22,3:22.  So this tells me I’m a little wishful in where I am right now.  I should have aimed for 3:20s, then I would have had a more consistent session.

On the good side, it’s not that far off what I imagined, though it confirms I won’t be hitting a PR on the 30th at my 5K.  No worries though, I’m grateful to be near my old time at all and think a PR will be doable in June.

Oh, and I got on the scale today…123! Hah, not so good for fast running but looks pretty good. Time to put a muzzle on the cookie consumption. Not completely, mind you, just a little less.

Reminder:  Runners Round Table today at 4pm EST today.  Fun stuff!