Hydration Plan B: Training Run Testing

Regarding marathon hydration, it seems my lack of coordination makes taking water from aid stations and consuming it without stopping impossible. I either spill it out of the cup, dump most of it on my face and chest (an unsightly wet t-shirt contest consisting of one dude), or get so little it’s not worth my while. So, I have developed two possible alternatives to address my hydration difficulties during the marathon.

As some background, during my long runs I place these wonderful 8oz Ice Mountain water bottles on my course. They come with a very convenient twist top that makes water consumption extra easy.

Possible Alternative Hydration—Alpha Plan (PAHAP) [please not this awesome acronym is also a palindrome] involves carrying cone shaped paper cups with the ‘v’ portion of the cup cut off. Said cone shaped cups will be turned upside down on the top of the marathon cup (which the kind organizers at Bayshore have already informed me are 7oz cups) to form a water consumption device da Vinci would be impressed with. The coned shaped paper cups are very light and can easily fit into my marathon shorts pockets, plus they are reusable and crushing them flat doesn’t affect their performance. I will be testing PAHAP on Saturday’s 10M run.

Possible Other Hydration—Omega Plan (POHOP) involves strategically placing my trusty Ice Mountain 80z water bottles on the marathon course the night before. I plan on arriving early Friday and driving the course, and I think I can find some a few places to stash my water later in the evening. POHOP also involves including a very nice note rubber-banded to each bottle saying, “I belong to a marathoner who would love nothing more than to consume me tomorrow/today. Please leave me here because my owner is sufficiently uncoordinated enough to take the water given out by the volunteers. Thank you!”

And as for running, last night’s goal was to negative split my 10M run. Splits went 6:52, 6:42, 7:00, 7:12, 6:45, 7:00, 6:47, 6:48, 6:52, 6:43. Success by about 20 seconds. 6:52/M average.

Know Your Enemy*

In the midst of winter, as cold strong winds pushed through dark Michigan nights, there were times I slightly resented not being able to begin my workouts until 8:30pm. But working with Phillip and seeing the progress he has made in vastly improving his reading ability makes it all worth the late night runs. Plus, like most things time can change your perspective. Now, when I begin my workouts at 8:30pm the sun is just setting and weather is cool with slight winds. As chronicled previously, this is my favorite weather to run in.

If my enemy is heat, than I’ll avoid if I can. And my promise to be accountable to Phillip helps me avoid the heat. It’s a win-win. However, sadly, my last week before taper is also my last week with Phillip, and I’ll miss him more than I’ll miss the high mileage. The program doesn’t typically allow carry-over from student to tutor, but I’ve already began to lobby for an exception.

Alas, as I begin to crest the summit of my Bayshore training and prepare to descend into tapper madness, I begin to wax poetically. So, to the numbers. Last night was 5M, splits went 6:11, 6:23, 6:24, 6:34, 6:19 for a 6:22/M average.

*Although I’m not a huge Green Day fan, their latest song was one of two stuck in my head last night in my sans iPod run. The other was the Black Eyed Pees Boom Boom Boom.

Beat Down II, Race Report

or, how 77 degrees punched me in the face for almost 13.1 miles.

My Half was about an hour and a half away from Lansing, so I was up early to allow myself time to get there, pick up my packet, stretch and begin the race at 8:15. As I was driving to the race, I was watching with dread the temperature monitor in my car. Like a game of hot and cold, the closer I got to my race, the higher the temperature got. When I arrived, the temp was 70 degrees.

Now, I knew it was going to be warm, but this was higher than what they had predicted. I had tried everything I could to hydrate, but I knew I was in for a long race. I do not run well in warm temperatures. Oh, and the huge storms they were predicting, well not a cloud around to obscure the angry sun.

By mile three, I was tired and the temperature had hit 75 degrees. By mile five, I was praying for a car to swerve and hit me (an honorable DNF). I had assumed this course was flat because the webpage didn’t have an elevation map…I assumed correctly for the first seven miles. At mile 7, I found hills and I lost hope. By mile 10, I was cursing out loud at the hills because it detracted from my agony. Mile 12 was, simply put, the worst mile I have even run. Every step hurt, every thought screamed ‘give up,’ and the sun was delivering its devastating final blows. A kind guy, in his 70s, passed me during mile 12 and said “going great, keep it up!” In response to this act of kindness and encouragement, I wanted nothing more than to break his hip (I'm kidding, sorta). I uttered, “thanks, you too.” I have never been more envious in my life.

But, I never stopped running. I’ve run long enough to know that these types of runs are going to happen. It’s a part of the game we all know about but don’t like to discuss. When it happens, it is awful, deflating, and humbling. But it is only one day, one run, one race. Driving home I promised myself I would regroup and improve at Sunday’s 5K. Also, while driving home, it poured rain and the temperature dropped significantly.

On Sunday, as I was preparing to leave for the race, I seriously considered not racing. It seems Saturday’s beat down was still tugging at me—including very sore and spent legs. But, you get past an awful run by getting back out there and running again. There were over 7,000 participants and over 1,300 racers at the Race for the Cure, and some of Lansing’s finest runners were there.

The temp was in the mid sixties and a slight breeze kept things feeling somewhat cooler. Lining up with such a huge crowd is awesome, and I was excited but anxious about how I would respond. I ran a fast first mile at 5:49, but then the soreness and toll of the 13.1 the day before began to weigh heavy on me. Not to be defeated, I fought through, going 6:22 for mile 2 and then 6:21 for mile 3; and kicked hard the last tenth. Although they were pretty big drop-offs from the first mile, they were the best I could summon. I finished under 19:30, a pretty good response and AG award worthy.

Two Races, One Weekend

I will be running in two races this weekend. Tomorrow is the Borgess/National City Half Marathon. My race plan is to keep the first mile at about 7:10, keep everything up to mile 7 around a 7:00/M, then try to crank it up to 6:50s. The temperature is supposed to be around 60 at the start—which I can handle so long as the oppressive heat’s ugly and mean sister humidity stays away.

Sunday is our local Race for the Cure, perhaps my favorite local race. I have no idea how I’ll be feeling after my half the day before, so I don’t have a set goal, just an expectation to push myself as hard as I can.

Happy running this weekend!

Love at First Touch

During my 22M training run (with a little extra for good measure) I suffered the worst calf cramps ever imaginable. All day Sunday and Monday I stretched that baby out, and it still hurt with every step I take, ever move I make, I’ll be watching me…sorry. The knot in my calf remained. Going to work Tuesday I was positive there was no way I could do my 5M run that evening, I couldn’t even walk.

But then, as if the Running Gods were apologizing for their cruel weather conditions of late, they inspired Nitmos to discuss his love affair with BioFreeze. He discussed how BF’s magical healing powers surpassed even Mr. Miyagi’s healing powers. I immediately demanded—in a childlike manner—that my administrative assistant find me a bottle (during Administrative Assistant’s Week nonetheless). I did not explain what BioFreeze was, or where to begin looking for it; I simply told her it was a matter of life and death.

A bottle was located not a half mile from where I work, and I left immediately to purchase it. The results: BioFreeze is the most amazing product ever. Ever!

On Tuesday I was able to run my 5M pain free, and not pushing it I still hit a 6:47/M average. Still lathering that magical aqua paste on my calf I was able to pull off some solid mile repeats last night. 5:52, 6:00, 5:54, 6:06, 5:55, 6:04. BioFreeze, I have loved you from the moment we first touched.

______________________

UPDATE: The 2009 Chicago Marathon is now full.

A Race Report of Sorts

This past weekend I decided I was gong to run 22 to 24 miles for my long run. And, for a while I had been planning on making this long run as close to the real race deal as possible. And, how else can one simulate a marathon race other than running in a marathon. So, that is exactly what I did. I ran a marathon.

I found a race not too far away, and I signed up for it about a week before the race. My goal was to just run 22 or 24 miles then pull up and DNF or walk/slow recovery run to the finish. So, under race conditions, I had a very exciting long run.

The race has only one real hill, and that was in the first mile. From there its a few rolling hills until mile 4, then its flat. I wanted to take the first mile slow, and I was trying to average 6:55 to 7:05 miles thereafter. The only concern I had was the starting temperature was 56 deg (sure—it isn’t the 72 to start Chicago last Fall, but still pretty high for this time of the year) and the humidity was beginning to ratchet up.

The first mile was a 7:18, just what I wanted. And that would be about the last thing that would go my way. Instead of just picking up the pace a bit, I hit the next mile at 7:00 flat. There was no reason to do this, I got sucked into the ‘going out too fast’ mistake so many of us make. Worse, I wasn’t really paying attention to Garmin the Great, so I was missing my splits. Therefore, when I hit mile 3 at 6:41 I could have taken note and slowed down. Instead, I hit mile 4 at 6:46. Mile five was a 7:05.

By this point, Garmin was about .03 ahead of the mile markers, and I was missing most of my splits. I had planned to break the run down into 4 5M parts plus whatever else I was going to run. If the goal was to run 7:00 average, I failed the first 5M segment due to my two 6:40 miles.

Miles 6-10 were the best part of my race. It was overcast and it seemed like it would rain. I had consumed my first Gu and things were going well (although there was on slight setback: I had some water intake issues and spilled a bunch on my face, which of course caused my left earphone to short out for a few miles). Splits went: 7:03, 7:06, 6:54, 6:57, 6:55. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of these. But I felt great. Second 5M segment, perfect.

Miles 11-15 went poorly. After mile 10 I slowed to actually drink the water, and by now the humidity had hit over 80% and the overcast sky was a hazy and angry sun. Worst of all, I finally got a look at a mile split—mile 10, 7:22. I flipped out, I panicked, and I dramatically overcompensated. Mile 11, 6:28. Stupid, stupid, stupid. At this point I was getting dehydrated, the weather conditions were killing me, and I had crushed a mile when I had no business doing so. But I didn’t see my super fast split, I just felt taxed. The remaining splits went: 6:59, 7:01, 7:12. Third 5M segment—mega fail due to wasted energy.

Miles 16-20 were where things really got bad. I was starting to feel a cramp in my left calf around mile 16. I thought, “Oh Noes, not calf cramps!” I was slowing down under the heat and humidity and I just tried to keep everything about a 7:15 mile. I went 7:10, 7:23, 7:46. The big slowdown was due to the fact that I stopped and walked through the water station at mile 17. Worse, the cramps were still building. Mile 19 was a decent 7:31, but during mile 20 there was a turnaround. As I slowed and made the turn the calf revolted. I was suffering Nitmosian calf cramps.* It was horrific, and I actually laughed out loud as I stopped to stretch. Mile 20, 8:07. The fourth 5M segment can be titled “paying for the 6:40s and the 6:30—and paying hard.”

I did everything I could to make it to 22M, with splits going at 7:45 and 8:03. The Nitmosian calf cramps were relentless. And, at mile 22, I pulled up and started walking/stretching.

After I felt the calf cramps could be managed, I did a very slow recovery jog to finish the last 4.2 miles. I had completed my long run, and even managed to finish the marathon.

And what have I learned? First, I need to find a better way to consume water during a race (race cups = getting wet and little hydration). Maybe a fuel belt, maybe something else, I’m working on it. Second, carry salt tablets and use them. Third, be extraordinarily mindful of knowing your splits and DO NOT GO OUT TOO FAST. Lastly, in the event you have a slower than pace mile, DO NOT GO CRAZY AND OVERCOMPENSATE BY RUNNING A VERY FAST NEXT MILE!!! I did this twice.



* Special thanks to Sun Runner for the phrase

The Best of Luck

I wanted to give a shout out to Lam, FL, and Ana-Maria, who are all running Boston on Monday. I wish all of you the best of luck.

I also want to say good luck to Amy and Vandy-Montana, who will be running the St. Louis Marathon this weekend.

Finally, good luck to Ms. V who is running the River City Half Marathon. Man, makes me wish I was running a marathon this weekend (or this upcoming Monday).