Inspired by Anonymous

As a society there seems to be a lot of hand wringing about what the age of facebook, twitter, and blogs have wrought.  Are we falling into some kind of vain and self-conscious age where we are suffocated by self-centered posts and updates?  Arianna Huffington recently said that "self-expression has become the new entertainment."  On the face of it - that sounds messed up.  It's not just self-expression, but the hope of positive feedback through the constant "publishing" of the usually mundane accomplishments of life.

Given that I posted a picture of my ironman age group award last week on facebook - I'm probably not in a place to be too critical.  And although facebook, twitter, and blogs are simply cringe inducing at times - I think that there is some value in these new technologies.  For me, the most valuable thing is that what used to be an expensive endeavor, publishing, is now basically free.  The marketplace of ideas and concepts may be more crowded - but sometimes a person or idea that has a great impact is able to find a voice when they would have been silent in previous era's.

One such person was known as "Hadd" on Letsrun.  He died last week and so I thought it would be appropriate for me to write a post of appreciation.  Hadd's real name was John Walsh - although I didn't know that until I read the recent thread on his death.  For whatever reason he wanted to stay completely anonymous.

Hadd's posts were inspirational to me for a few reasons.  First, he liked to write about and coach guys who weren't pro's, but just wanted to see what they could do.  He saw value in people attempting to find what was possible - even if it didn't mean they were going to run in the olympics.  One of his bests posts (scroll to part IV) was about a 30+ old athlete attempting to run a sub 2:25 marathon.  It was interesting to me that he didn't write about someone trying to run an olympic qualifier - but simply a guy who had gained 20 pounds and wanted to run "one more serious marathon."

Another thing I enjoyed about his writing was that he included a LOT of science written in a way that I could understand.  He made a great argument for why training should be a long process - starting with a sustained period of easy running before including intensity.  He wrote about capillary beds, muscle fiber recruitment, lactate threshold, and energy expenditure in ways in which you could actually see these processes happening - and understand why taking a deliberate long term view towards training is so important.

The truth is that a guy like Hadd would have been lost to the world (other than the 20-30 athletes who he coached) if it weren't for the modern technology.  He helped me to understand that yearning for athletic accomplishment, even after you've become an adult and have other responsibilities, isn't something that's shameful.  He also showed me that as out of shape as I was at the time (I was about 30 lbs over my ideal racing weight in my mid-20's) there was a path to success.

For all of the possible negative effects of our connected world - you can tease out a lot of great content - and I don't just mean ducks chasing dogs.  RIP Hadd - I owe a lot of fun racing and training over the last 10 years to your writing.

The day after a hard workout

One of the more significant additions that I've made to my training for Boston is what I do the day after a hard workout.

Nine of the last 12 weeks I've run a 13-15 miles the day after a hard workout. I've never done this before - it seems to help both physically & mentally. Physically, my body is having to adapt to a relatively long run when it's already depleted. But, I think the most positive effect is psychological. Even though the pace isn't too fast - it feels like I've accomplished something when I look at my watch and see that I've run 90+ minutes in the middle of the week.

Although I haven't been posting it on my blog - I've been lifting weights on most of these days as well. It's nice to have a different physical activity to mix things up a little - and my wife thanks me for not wasting away completely.

VO2 Max

VO2 max refers to the maximum amount of oxygen that can be processed by the body in a certain time period - it is expressed as litres of oxygen per minute. In other words it is the capacity of the cardiovascular system and peripheral systems (muscle groups) to take in oxygen, deliver to muscle systems, process oxygen, and deal with the by-products. VO2 max can be tested by increasing pace every minute until the runner is going all out. Expired air is collected in a bag during the test - heart rate is taken at the end and lactate levels are measured two minutes after the end of the test when lactate is highest.

Along with lactate threshold and running economy it is an important determinant to distance running. It is most important for distances up to 10k.

So, how do you improve VO2 max? Interval training is the most efficient way to improve VO2 max. Usually this is done by running at 3k-5k pace (usually95-100% VO2 max) for 3-5 minute intervals with recovery times that are equal to, or a little less, than the time of the interval. The amount of total weekly interval-paced training should be up to 8 percent of total mileage according to Jack Daniels.

Hurtin'

I don't want this blog to be a constant stream of whining and complaining. But, I think it is worthwhile to note when I've reached a red line and how my body is reacting to training now vs a few months from now. I had a hard time getting in my easy four miler last night and an even harder time with my medium long run this morning. My legs aren't completely trashed - but, they're feeling "dead". My whole body feels fatigued - and I just feel "out of it".

I think it's from a combination of factors. This will be my first week over 80 miles in awhile. I notice that I can recover pretty well at about 75 miles per week - but, anything above that my body seems to protest. Also, I ran my tempo run yesterday a little too fast - especially when it was just two days after a 19 mile run. Tomorrow will be easy - but, Friday I'm planning to do a hill workout in Ann Arbor with my old running group and a long run on Saturday. I don't know how in shape they all are - but, I'm sure someone will push the pace.

Although next week will be another high-mileage week - I will get three easy days in a row on Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday. Plus I'm hoping that a few days of warmth in FLA will make running outside feel like not such a chore.

But, the number one thing I need to do is focus on recovery activities - including elavating my legs and cold whirlpools. And of course nutrition - but, realistically that probably won't get better until after the holidays.

Hills

Hill workouts mean different things to different people. Pfitzinger writes about them in his section about resistence/weight training. He views hills as a way to strengthen the legs without using weights. Daniels agrees with this view to a point - but he also views hills as a rep workout in that it can greatly increase your heart rate over a shorter distance/slower speed than on a track.

For most people who have been on XC/track teams hills mean pain. Usually the name of the street where your coach had you do hill workouts can bring a chill to the spine many years later. At my high school we had "5th street." Our coach marked out 400 meter and 800 meter "options". University of Michigan has Harvard Street - which is shorter, but steeper. At Loyola in Chicago we were forced to go to a sledding hill in Evanston that had once been a dump - it was too short - so we did a LOT of them.

The worst thing about hill workouts is the last 25 meters when it feels like you're standing still, and yet your legs are burning and you feel like you might hyperventilate. But, they make you stronger.

In preperation for Boston I'm going to do hills on most weeks when I have just one other "hard" workout. I may even do some downhill training as I've heard that the Boston downhills near the end are more challenging on dead legs than you might think.

This morning was my first hill workout in Druid Hill Park (pic above). I tried to take it a little easy on myself - but, I still got a good burn going.

LT workout, first double, and six words you don't want to hear on a run alone, at night, in Baltimore

I'm not going to detail every hard workout between now and Boston - but, I'll probably write at least one post on every type of run - how the experts suggest approaching it and how it worked out for me.

As I wrote in a post last week - lactate threshold is somewhat of a misnomer, but I'm going to use it for these kinds of workouts because everybody else does. Regardless of what you call it the point of these runs is to increase the percent of V02 max, and more importantly the pace, at which bad stuff like acidosis and reduced muscle contraction takes place. To do this most experts suggest running at 15k-half-marathon pace for 20-40 minutes. You can also do LT repeats (usually 1-2 miles) with short rest.

Daniels has a more exact way of determining LT pace by what he calls your V-DOT score (I'll get into that in another post). Using Daniels method and what I thought I was capable of currently running for a half-marathon, I thought 5:35 pace would be about right. But, LT runs you want to do more on feel than anything - it should be "comfortably hard" and you shouldn't have much muscle soreness during or after. You're not looking to smash the wall with a sledge hammer, but rather use the Andy Dufrain principle of "pressure and time."

Luckily I was able to find some other members of TWSS who didn't mind running a difficult workout at 7am this morning. Arjun, Brennan, Zero, and Eileen showed up on time and ready to go - unfortunately, I didn't leave myself enough time - so I was late. They were about a quarter mile into the run when we passed each other. So, I ran it alone - which wasn't really all that bad.

There isn't a whole lot to say about the workout. I may have run a little too fast in sections and too slow in others - but I ended up at 22:30 (~5:37 pace). So, not so bad.

Today was also my first double in awhile. I try to limit doubles - but, when you get around 70 miles a week it's hard to avoid them. I prefer to run doubles on days when I have a hard run - it helps to warm up the muscles and gives you a chance to run less miles on recovery days. Although usually I run easy in the morning and hard in the evening -but, today we ran hard in the morning to get a little daylight. I'm not going to kid you - it was tough getting out the door tonight. But, after about 10 minutes I felt a little less of the aches & pains. I think that it will overall help me recover from this morning.

As I was trying to pry myself off the couch - I made a choice about which 4 mile route I'd take. My "usual" 4 mile route goes north-west through Mt. Vernon to Bolton Hill to Reservoir Hill(between North Ave and Druid Hill Park) and back - my other route is down to Riverside Park in Fed Hill and back. I had never run my usual route at night - and Reservoir Hill is a little sketchy - but, I had run in Fed Hill this morning. Plus I reasoned that I always run on Monument between Johns Hopkins Hospital and the JFX expressway at night, which has a bad reputation, and never have any problems. Well, the difference is that Monument is very well traveled, exposed, and you see cops pretty frequently.

About 2 blocks north of North Ave. on Park Ave. I passed some kids on who were on the other side of the street. There was some commotion and I didn't really pay attention until I heard a kid clearly say "shoot the dumbass in the back." Now, he could have been talking about some other dumbass - but, I was the only dumbass in their immediate vicinity. Going to college in Chicago I have some street smarts (although obviously not enough to stay out of this neighborhood at night) which told me I should just keep looking ahead and run at the same pace. Look back and they might think you're confronting them - run away fast and they might think you have a reason to run. The point is to communicate "I'm just a guy going about my business - I'm not going to cause any trouble." They most definitely could have been screwing with me. But, I'm guessing that they were doing something illegal, didn't want to get caught, and so one of the kids said something they thought would scare me off. It worked and next time I need to run 4 miles at night I'll be running down to the Inner Harbor and Fed Hill.

Lactate Threshold: What does it mean? Does it even exist?

Very early on in most runner's careers they hear how the build up of lactic acid causes them to run slower and feel sore. Well, it turns out that lactic acid isn't produced in exercise and that lactate, which is produced during exercise, doesn't cause any pain or soreness in our muscles (Noakes). In fact, lactate might be a good thing for us - we just don't know. That should show you how insanely complex our bodies are when you consider that in 2008 we don't entirely understand what happens when we propell ourselves forward.

However, both Daniels and Pfitzinger talk about lactate threshold as if it still means something. Why? Well, for one we seem to be able to predict race times most reliably based on the pace at which lactate starts accumilating more rapidly in the blood. Lactate accumilation is correlated with the build-up of hydrogen ions which lowers pH (acidosis). Hydrogen ions can also block the uptake of calcium - which restricts muscle contraction.

So, what does all this mean? Running around the "lactate threshold" (LT) point (usually 75-80% of V02 max or 15k-20k race pace) does seem to improve running ability. And runners with lactate thresholds at a higher percentage of V02 max race faster. The most popular LT workout is to run at LT pace for 20-40 minutes. Another LT workout is to run mile repeats at LT pace with 1-2 minutes rest.

So, a week from today when I run my first LT workout - I'll try to not confuse myself with the details and just run controlled and strong - because that's what I want to do on 4/20.

Science of the easy run

We tend to discount the easy run as "junk mileage" - is it just about having a big number at the end of the week? Or do those easy days actually contribute to our ability to run fast?

By my count >70% of my training days before Boston will be "easy". So, I hope it's important, otherwise I'm wasting a lot of time - but, how will these miles make me faster on April 20th?

Here are some specific physiological improvements that are made during easy runs.

Stroke volume: The heart is really just a pump sending oxygen & other nutrients carried by the blood to organs and systems that need those nutrients to function. Stroke volume is the amount of blood that is pumped with every beat of the heart. Higher stroke volume means that the heart doesn't need to beat as quickly - and studies have shown that stroke volume is improved due to time spent running/exercising rather than intensity of training (Daniels, 2005). So, even if you were to train harder - you wouldn't necessarily increase your stroke volume.

Muscle development: Easy runs increase the "number, size and distribution of the mitochondria" (Daniels, 2005). Mitochondria are the "only part of your muscle fibers in which energy can be produced aerobically" (Pfitzinger & Douglas, 2001) - they are basically little energy plants that use oxygen to produce energy for the cells they inhabit. Since 99% of energy is produced aerobically in a marathon it's important to have a lot of these little buggers. Exercise also increases the rate at which oxygen can be processed. And third there is an increase in blood vessels in the muscle - basically improving the distribution of oxygen to all parts of the muscle. Finally muscles get better at conserving glycogen, using fat for energy, and dealing with lactic acid through easy runs (Daniels, 2005).

Running economy: Although there are many ways to increase running economy - some researchers believe that the most important factor for improved running economy (both biomechanics and cellular economy) is by the amount of accumulated miles rather than the types of workouts that you do (Pfitzinger & Douglas, 2001).

There are certainly other components that are important for marathon performance that require more intense training (lactate threshold, overall speed, VO2 max) - but, we'll get to them later. For now, all I want or need are some nice easy runs (except for when Fed Hill gets out of control of course).

The beginning of modern training: Arthur Newton

A book I've mentioned before, Lore of Running, dedicates an entire chapter to the contributions of Arthur Newton, who raced in the 1920's and 30's. Newton was what we would call today an ultra-marathoner. He ran a large number of races between 60-100 miles - but, his ideas helped to modernize training for all distance runners. In Lore of Running, Tim Noakes identifies 9 "rules" of Newton's training that have have become "common sense" in long distance training.

1) Train frequently year-round: Before Newton most world class runners trained only part of the year - and not very strenuously by today's standards. In fact many books of the time suggested walking as good training.

2) Start Gradually and Train Gently: Since many runners didn't train all year long - they tried to get back into training too quickly. Newton praised the benefits of what we would now call long slow distance (LSD). Which Noakes defines as 20-25% slower than race pace.

3) Train first for distance (only later for speed): I would say that's the major feature of my training for Boston. I'll be doing quite a bit of distance before I ever hit the track.

4) Don't set a daily schedule: Well, I've kind of messed up on this one. My days are scheduled for the next 25 weeks. However, I know I need to be flexible. If something comes up or I'm too tired or the weather is crazy on a "quality" day - I have no problem postponing the workout.

5) Don't race when you are training, and run time trials and races longer than 16 km only infrequently: This basically relates to the idea of "periodization" discussed earlier. Set aside a good chunk of time that's just for training - not racing. Now, his idea of "infrequently" is a little different than mine. He suggested that marathoners should not race more frequently than every two months - running a marathon about every 2 years is enough for me!

6) Specialize: Noakes interprets this as make sure that you train for a specific distance. Training for a 5k is very different than training for a marathon. Another way to think about it is to concentrate on the distance that you are most talented at - although, i'll admit that if that was the case I'd never run a marathon.

7) Don't overtrain: This is a pretty simple one - of course it's sometimes hard to tell when you've crossed the line. Marathon training is so difficult that simply being tired might not be a sign to ease up your training. But, on the other hand, you can't ignore what you're body is telling you. If your pace is way off in workouts - or you're getting sick constantly you should probably back off.

8) Train the mind: People probably don't appreciate the importance of training your mind to overcome pain. Many runners who don't start until they are adults train at the same pace that they race. Of course, part of that is they are not necessarily competing - but, another part of it is that their minds are used to pushing their bodies as hard as someone who has been competing since they were a kid.

9) Rest before the race: As I said before, the taper is very important. Noakes argues that no other running writer seems to have said anything about tapering before Newton. In fact, many would run time trials just days before big competitions.

Periodization by mesocycles

Don’t fall off your seats folks - I know this sounds exciting. Periodization is basically the concept that to run our best we need to have different types of training throughout the year (including rest). Both Pfitzinger (Advanced Marathoning) and Daniels (Daniels’ Running Formula) prefer 24 week “macro cycles” to best prepare for a goal race. Both authors break the 24 weeks down into 4 training mesocycles (Pfitzinger’s term) or phases (Daniels’ term). This is not completely ground breaking - everyone who has run on a track or cross country team has trained using some version of these cycles. I’m going to quickly summarize each of these cycles today - at some later date I’ll go into each one in more depth.

Phase one is simply running “easy” mileage to build an aerobic base. This base building is important so that you can increase mileage without increasing intensity. There are many benefits to easy running on the cardiovascular system and even a cellular level. I might do some strides during this phase as well, which helps with running economy.

Phase two introduces some quality training - but not too much and not too intense. Along with some threshold workouts, I’ll include strides after an easy run and hills.

Phase three is the most intense phase. It includes both intervals and threshold runs - as well as more marathon pace runs (if that’s your goal race). The goal is to stress the systems that will be tested in your goal race enough to strengthen them - without getting injured or burned out. It is this thin line that you have to play with - you have to really listen to your body and focus on hydration and nutrition to ensure that you are replacing the liquids, carbs, protein, and vitamins/minerals that your body is using at a high rate. There might be some racing during this phase as well.

Phase four is the last phase of quality training. You want this to be as specific to the event as possible. If your goal race is hilly than you want to train over hills - if it’s going to be warm then you want to train in the heat. This phase also includes the taper in the few weeks before the race. This is critical because your body is able to recover from the training without losing much fitness. Tapering is a tricky balance as well - but, usually it’s best to error on the side of too much rest. My PR marathon came after I hurt my knee a month before the marathon and mostly used a stationary bike for training. Rest is much more important that most people realize.

Speaking of rest - there is a rest phase, which I’m in the middle of right now. Rest doesn’t have to mean no running whatsoever - but, it does mean a major reduction in mileage and no hard running. The transition between my rest phase and phase one will be gradual - but, the basic length of each phase is as follows:

Rest phase: 4 weeks
Phase one: 4 weeks
Phase two: 5 weeks
Phase three: 9 weeks
Phase four: 5 weeks

So, it’s basically a 27 week plan with 23 weeks for the four main phases.

Obsessed with training

I don't know if this is healthy or not - but, I've been obsessed lately with looking at my training schedule for the marathon. I've been trying to predict how certain training is going to make me feel based off past experiences. There is enough new training that I've never done before that it makes me a little nervous - but, I think I need to make these changes in my training to improve my time.

And yes, this means I have all of my daily runs planned out until Boston - I know it's a little sick.

What kind of changes?

1) More runs over 20 miles. Leading up to NYC in 2007 I had one run >= 20 miles. Now to be fair - I had 14 runs between 16-19 miles, but I don't think that was enough. For Boston I'm going to be running 9 runs 20-24 miles plus 12 runs between 16-19 miles.

2) More mid-week runs of 12-15 miles. I had about 4 of these in training for NYC. These are easy runs that aren't the long run of the week. I'll be doing 25 of these during training for Boston - so, some weeks I'll have 2 of these. What this means is that I'll have a lot days where I'll be beat up from hard/long running and trying to get out the door for 85+ min.

3) More marathon or faster training within runs >=16 miles. I did 3-4 of these in prep for NYC - I am planning on running 7 of these this winter/spring.

4) Less racing early on in training. During all of my training for NYC I never went more than 4 weeks without racing. For Boston I'm going to go about 13 weeks before the first time I toe the line in any race. What I'm worried about is boredom more than anything. The point is to put down a strong base of training without stressing my body too much early on, so that I can be stronger for the last few months before the marathon. I guess that's part of the reason for this blog - so that I have a reason to stay psychologically focused during this period.

5) Related to #4 is the transition time between my current training (my last race of the "season" is on 10/11) and Boston marathon training (the first relatively challenging week is the second week of December). It's a real trick to find out the best way to give one's body rest without losing too much fitness. I also tend to gain weight when I'm running low mileage - which can make coming back to training a rather miserable experience. So, I need to concentrate on nutrition and cross training while april will feel like a long ways away.

6) February 17-April 4: This might be the hardest 7 weeks of training that I've ever attempted. I'll be running an average of ~89 miles per week, with 5 runs over 20 miles, a half marathon, 9 threshold/marathon pace runs and no days off. This is why those 8 weeks between 10/11-12/7 are so important. I need to be both rested and have a decent base - so that I can handle the training and not get injured.

The training plan

I'm going to use a combination of training plans from Pete Pfitzinger (Advanced Marathoning) and Jack Daniels (Daniels' Running Formula). They both have plans that have 4 phases. The Pfitzinger plan is a little simpler - but, I like some of the workouts in the Daniels book a little bit better.

I'm planning on writing extensively on what these books say about distance running training. I'll probably bring in some theory from a few other books I have laying around too.

The plan will run for 24 weeks. I'll get into the details in a later post.

Goals

For any athletic event that's seven months out it's best to have multiple goals. There are so many unknowns that it would be crazy to say "If I don't run Time A, I won't be happy."

I have four levels of goals:

Goal A:

Run sub 2:30. My PR is 2:36 - so, this might seem a little beyond what I'm capable of doing. However, I've run 10k and half marathon times that point to a capability of sub 2:30. Still, you might say, "Boston is a hard course. Maybe you should save that goal for a flat course." That's true - but, people have run decent times at Boston, I live in a relatively hilly city (Baltimore) for training, and I have a good training group. Basically, you never know when you'll have a chance to run a good time. Yes, I will need to follow my training to a "T", no injuries allowed, no bad weather on race day etc - but, I know I can do it at some point - why not now?. At least I think I can. Probability it will happen? 5-10% Everything would have to go right - and I would have to run a sub 1:10 half in my tune up race to even attempt it. That being said - most of my training will assume that this is my goal pace.

Goal B:

PR. This is quite a bit easier - but, it's still difficult. I ran a 2:37 last year in NYC and I'm not getting younger (although many runners PR in the marathon into their mid-30's). I'd say there's about a 50-60% chance that I'll get goal B.

Goal C:

Finish without completely blowing up. Although I could get goal B or even A while also blowing up (my definition of blowing up is running at least 2 miles at 30 seconds slower than goal pace) - it's not likely. The marathon is so cruel because it can make you go from feeling the most fit in your life to crippled in a few hours. Leg muscles cramp up, range of motion disappears, basically your body can fall apart until you only march on because you're not sure how else you can get to the finish line. I've run 4 marathons - I've felt like this in 3 of them. So, I give myself a 25% chance of not blowing up.

Goal D:

Finish. Even when I've felt awful I've been able to finish. I've never dropped out of a marathon - and I've never injured myself so badly that I couldn't get to the starting line (knock on wood). I would say that there is at least a 95% chance that I'll be on the start line next April and finish.