Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

New month. "Got the urge" and jogged out to LHS rec fields and did a half mile lap (3:31) and then 4x200m barefoot strides. The first stride was in 38, then I missed the time on the next 2, but then the last one was in 35, so they're really starting to rip and feel good.

ran to gym; 20 minutes on elliptical, lifted, stretched, and ran home

I wanted to give my foot a break, so I just crosstrained today. Biked to gym and did 30 minutes on elliptical. That's all I had time for today. Did stretching, theraband exercises, and some core work late evening at home.

raining buckets. Drove over to gym and did 30 minutes on elliptical and then ran 2 miles on treadmill at a 3% grade at 7:30 pace (equivalent to 6:58 on level ground, according to Daniels chart). Felt pretty smooth. Lifted and stretched.

Slow day at work, so took off to the gym for an extended lunch break. Ran 2.5 miles on the Logan River trail on the way, and then did 30 minutes on elliptical. The rear part of my arch is slightly tender, but other than that everything feels fine.

Caught a break in the rain and did an out-and-back to the 1000 W 600 S intersection. Stopped by the skate park on the way back and did 4x200m barefoot strides (36, 35, 33, 32). Pushed the last two a bit more, but they were by no means all-out (defeats the purpose of strides if they are), so I felt pretty good about it. Plus, only one little skater punk made a running remark as I went by, another bonus. Measured the path in Google Earth when I got home, and it turned out to be 191 meters, so maybe add a second or two to each one.

Woke up this morning at 7:30AM with a coughing fit. Sleep didn't come back to me, so I decided that it was time to get up and go for a run. It was rainy and cool here in Logan, and made me wonder what conditions were like in St. George; probably pretty good if it's anything like this. I drove out to the Logan Canyon River Trail, and ran to the start of the single track and back, a distance of roughly 4 miles. 15:20 up and 14:00 back on the downhill. Felt pretty good, and I ran quite a bit faster than last week without pushing it any harder, so the form is still improving. This is my longest run since April. I felt like a real runner again, being out in the rain and all, and not sweating on some elliptical or treadmill surrounded by people reading celebrity gossip magazines. 16 running miles this week; will try 20 next week.

Looking forward to seeing the St. George results.

Biked to gym, and did 4-mile run into Providence and back. Pace was slow, but felt good. Afterwards, I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and lifted and stretched.

Ran to LHS rec fields and did 2 miles worth of loops in the grass; averaged about 7:15/mile pace. Did 4x200m barefoot strides (36, 36, 35, 34). So slightly faster than last Sunday. Jogged home for cooldown. Stretched and theraband exercises in evening at home.

Ran a block with the dog, then ran out to paved river trail out to the Golden Mile point, and back home, for total distance of about 4 miles. Golden Mile splits for 6:29 and 6:25, so right around 7:05 mile pace. Biked to gym after that and did 20 minutes on elliptical, lifted, and stretched.

Cross training day. Biked to gym, did 40 minutes on elliptical, lifted, and stretched.

Ran around block with dog, then ran out to LHS rec fields and did 2 miles of grass loops (7:10 and 7:00 mile splits). Did 4x200m barefoot strides (36, 35, 35, 33). I wanted to GPS the stride field, but couldn't find my GPS... Sasha, do you still have it from Wasatch Back?

Ran to end of single track and back on Logan Canyon River Trail. Pace was pretty slow, but felt good. Ran with Jon, James, and also with Cody for the first time. It has literally been MONTHS since I've run with other people, so it was very nice. I've missed the social aspect of running more than training and racing. Many of the friends I've met throughout my life have been through running. So I'm quite happy that I've built up to running distances where I can running socially again. After the run, I biked out to the gym to lift weights and stretch. A good morning. 20 miles running for the week; will do 23 next week. Let the slow build-up continue! edit: added a mile in the evening, as I didn't have a car available and ran to a restaurant to meet a friend.

Day off.

Over the weekend I started transferring my old Polar calendar data to the Blog, so that I have a complete training and racing record in one place. So far I've completed 2003, including race reports from doing the LDR circuit. I'll try to do 2004 and 2005 when I have time. It's funny how much I can remember about each race, as I fill out the reports over 3 years later. Having done 2003, I'm amazed at how bad and haphazard my training was back then. I would literally jump from 70 miles to 100 miles in a one week span. I could get away with than then, but it's the kind of thing that got me injured this year. I've learned. Also, I did a total of about 6 speed sessions that entire summer. So really no workouts aside from racing. I had no plan and no training program, but had good health and a bit of speed left over from college. Now I have a solid training program and wisdom, but just need the body and health to support what's in my head. Need to get the speed back too.

I also devised my weekly mileage build-up for the next several months. In general I will follow the "no more than 10%" rule and make it a slow build-up. Here it is:

Remaining weeks of Oct: 23, 25, 27

Nov: 30, 33, 36, 40

Dec: 44, 48, 48, 50

Jan: 53, 55, 60, 60, 63

We'll see how that goes. Those numbers are based on 5 days of running until early December, and then 6 days of running after that. Of course I can't plan setbacks or illness, but I've found that it's good to map out how much I need to run each day, and actually make a daily calendar that I can refer to. That way I don't go overboard.

Landfill Loop. 40:00. I thought this route was 5 miles, but when I looked it up it was actually 5.6. Oops. Didn't mean to get a "long run" in! The upshot is that I thought I average 8 minute miles, but it was actually around 7:08/mile. Good run.

Flying to Denver later today for a business trip, so got up early to work out. Ran to the gym, did 20 minutes on elliptical, lifted and stretched. Ran home and jogged around the block with dog.

My gym recently got some new high-tech treadmills. They vaguely resemble something out of Robocop. The upshot is that they can do negative gradients, up to -3%. This is similar to some of the steeper portions of the Top of Utah course, so it is nice to know I can do downhill training this winter when everything is snowed over.

Meetings and travel in Denver, back to SLC. What a whirlwind. No workout today.

Ran to rec center and met Cody and James. We did the River Heights Loop, a four-mile route with a large hill climb and descent. It felt pretty good. Ran to my office afterward and then back home. Went to the gym after dinner and did 20 minutes on the elliptical, lifted, and stretched.

Ran to gym; elliptical for 30 minutes, lifted, and stretched. Ran home.

6-mile trail run on the Willow Creek Trail, up Right Hand Fork with Cody, James, David, and Ben. It was a chilly morning, but got really nice toward the end of the run. The trail was extremely sloppy from recent rain and freeze/thaw, which made footing slow and difficult in places. But it was a fun run. 23 miles for the week; 25 next week.

Gorgeous Sunday up here in Logan. Too nice to stay inside all day. Took a nice autumn walk with my wife. Later, jogged out to LHS rec fields and did 4x200m strides (35, 33, 33, 32). They felt good and snappy.

I spent some time last night and today transferring my Polar training log over to the Blog for the 2004 running season, including race reports. So now I have 2003, 2004, and most of 2006 posted. I'll fill the gap probably next weekend. Looking back at 2004, I did A LOT more mileage than in 2003, and I expected it to pay off and run some really fast times...but that's not what happened. In fact, 2004 was probably my worst racing season. Despite holding steady to 80-100 mile weeks for most of the summer, my times were slower compared to 2003, from 5k to marathon. This means either 1)I'm not meant to do that high of mileage; or 2)I didn't see the fruits of my labor immediately; or 3)some of my training methodology was wrong. I feel that the reality was a combination of all those reasons. When I do 100-mile weeks, I get fatigued, and don't race or work out well. However, I feel that all mieage adds to "lifetime base" and will pay off in later years. 2005 for me was a really good racing year, despite low mileage, and I think that the high mileage I did in 2004 set me up for the Grand Slam in 2005. Finally, most of my workouts in 2004 were geared toward VO2 Max (short intervals). I did little threshold and marathon-pace running, so it's no wonder that I crashed and burned at TOU that year; my body could not sustain a long effort nor store/burn fuel efficiently. Although I was doing more mileage in 2004, I still lacked any thoughtful training methodology, and just thought that if I ran lots of mileage and did track intervals, that I would become fast at all distances...immediately.

The training element that killed me the most for the 2004 TOU race was my taper. I went from doing 90-100 mile/weeks through August, to 35-45 miles/week in the two weeks before TOU. I felt led to do so because I felt fatigued from the mileage and I didn't know any better. But the taper was too sharp (50-60% cut) and sustained over too long a period of time (2 full weeks). During the 2006 Grand Slam, I experimented with great success with 10-20% tapers sustained over one week. For example, if I had been running 60 mpw, I would taper to 50 miles in the week preceding the marathon. I now believe that a key to good training is not to fatigue yourself, and if you are not fatigued there is no need to taper for longer than a week, or to cut your miles by more than 10-20%. Hard-gained fitness can be lost over long tapers. I see marathon programs advocating 3-week tapers, and that just seems wrong. If one's body is so broken down that one needs three weeks to mend, replenish, and fuel it, then the training program is fundamentally flawed to begin with. Everyone is different, of course, and have different needs, but it seems that if one is in good health, has trained within their limits, and fuels their body healthily, then 1 week or maybe 2 weeks at the very most should be sufficient to run an optimal marathon.

Those are my Sunday blog thoughts. Other thoughts and comments on optimal tapering are welcome.

Landfill Loop. 39:20 (7:25/mile pace). I worked out some frustration from work in the first half and ran some 7:00-miles, and then slowed down the last half.

Gym-to-gym loop with James and Cody. Stopped at gym midway and did 20 minutes on the elliptical, and lifted and stretched.

Crosstraining day. Did 40 minutes on the elliptical. Today I also received my TP Massageball Kit, which I am excited about. This set of massage tools was developed by athletes for athletes, and has received very favorable reviews from many sources. Supposedly it can treat and prevent a wide array of injuries, including PF, knee pain, and lower back pain, all of which I've had over at some point over the last year. I have responded well to massage therapy, so hopefully this will be a way to do the same thing without paying $40/hr. After I use it for a few weeks or so, I'll give a full review about its effectiveness and ease of use.

AM - 30 minutes on elliptical, lifted, and stretched

PM - easy 5 mile run with Cody, Jon, and baby.

Ran to gym, did some lifting and hopped on the elliptical for 10 minutes. Ran to insurance appointment, and then ran home. I love leg-powered transportation!

Ran 6 miles of the Green Canyon Out-and-Back route with Dave and James. Over half of it is on a canal access trail and then the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. We ran into some hunters dragging a dead deer down the trail and decided that was an omen to turn around. I have nothing against hunters/hunting, but it seems kind of lazy to me to hunt off of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Probably illegal too, since it's in city limits. In any case it was a beautiful day and a nice run. 25 miles running for the week. 27 miles next week.

Today's Sunday Blog topic: 2005 training, the Grand Slam, and multiple marathoning.

Over yesterday and today I transfered my Polar training for 2005 to the Blog. 2005 was a breakthrough year for me, in that I finally utilized smart training, and finally figured out how to run a marathon properly. Both of those accomplishments were greatly influenced by me reading "Advanced Marathoning" by Pfitzinger and Douglas. The ideas in the book help me formulate a good training plan that employed a lot more tempo and marathon-pace running, and less VO2Max. It also helped me with proper tapering, hydrating, and fueling, which are crucial (and often underestimated) for the marathon.

This was also the year I ran the Grand Slam. Why did I do the Slam? I was so jaded from the TOU Marathon in 2004, when I put all my marbles in the one race and lost big. So I decided to do the opposite in 2005: run a bunch of marathons until I got it right. Also, there would be no pressure on me (from myself) to perform really well at any of them, which would allow me to loosen up and RUN MY OWN RACE. Well, to make a long story short, I ended up doing really well in ALL of them, and came out with some nice PR's, and a lot of valuable experience. So in order to run fast, I had to try to run slow. What this meant was that in all my previous marathons, I tried to run a pace beyond my training, and ended up running slower than I should have because of those improper race-day tactics.

The downside of doing the Slam was that I got injured (knee and lower back). I chose to abuse ibuprofin and just run through it, and did so "sucessfully", but I ended up taking October-December completely off in order to rehab and recover. And when I started running again in January, I developed similar injuries again. Either my biomechanics changed or my body's ability to heal and/or absorb shock had been compromised. I hadn't had an injury before the Slam for the previous 10 years of competitive running. I do not blame the Slam itself, but rather me running it too hard with TOO LITTLE BASE.

People often ask me about the Slam and for tips. Here are my tips, ideas that I did use or SHOULD HAVE used.

1) Build a big base during the 4 months preceding the first race (Ogden). 70+ miles/week for at least couple months is optimal. Once the Slam starts, you will be forced to drop mileage due to constant recovery.

2) Pick 1 or 2 races as your focus races. Run the others as "workouts" -- ie do not "race" them. For me, my focus races were Des News and St. George.

3)Negative or even-split every race. Do not hit the wall. I found that races that I negative or even-splitted, my recovery was an order of magnitude faster than races where I hit the wall and ran a slower 2nd half.

4) How do you not hit the wall? Run your race, not someone else's race. Ignore "the pack" and run a pace that seems too slow at first. You have 26 miles to get your PR. Going out hard the first few miles can ruin the last half of your race. But going out easy can make the last half a dream. I ended up passing a lot of people that are normally faster than me in the last miles of races using this strategy, and even unintentially won money by winning the "war of attrition". Pfitzinger says that running a negative split means that you could have ran faster, but that's what we want in the non-focus Grand Slam races.

5) Run for "active recovery". Hydrate and fuel EVERY aid station, even if you are not thirsty or tired. Walk through, if needed. I actually walk through aid stations now to get more fluid, and I don't believe it nets me any loss in time, because I "get it back" later. Take liquid and fuel after Mile 20, even though it will not help you for the current race, it will help you recover from the race faster, which is key for the Slam.

6) Do not taper heavily for your non-focus marathons. Since you just did a marathon a few weeks ago, your mileage will probably not be that high to begin with, and your fitness can not afford a big taper. One week with 20% reduction should do it, and then the marathon itself will add 26 miles for the week, so on paper, there will not be any drop in mileage at all!

7) Monitor your body, and think long-term rather than short term. If you are injured, suck it up and drop out of the circuit. Some injuries will go away on there own, but others will not, and continuing to run will make things worse and have long-term consequences. I've had a rough year since the Slam because I did not listen to my body and tried to mask my pain with NSAIDs. Don't do it!

8) Enjoy it! Running the Slam takes you to a lot of great courses and beautiful areas in Utah. Relax and admire the scenery during your race. Be inspired.

I think that the Grand Slam in 2007 will "only" consist of 4 races rather than 5. This should make the circuit more achievable, and allow for faster times.

I found that despite relatively low mileage, I built a tremendous amount of fitness through doing the Grand Slam. Why is that? Well, my theory is that Slammers do tons of marathon-specific workouts...what is a better marathon workout than 26.2 miles at MP pace? Fewer long training runs are needed, as the marathons themselves build a lot of fitness and train the body to burn fuel efficiently. Even my general speed was pretty good by September, as demonstrated by a strong Peruvian Dash finish. Finishers of the 2006 Slam had a lot of PR's and remarkable performances as well. This leads me to believe that multiple marathons are a good way to go. Of course, doing 5 in 6 months is little extreme, but if you train for months and months and do your marathon...why not do another in a month or two? You've worked very hard over several months to build your marathon fitness, and if your recovery from the first marahon goes well, why not jump in another? You have already done the work, so the second marathon is "free", and I believe the probability of a PR in a second marathon (if spaced far enough apart) is good.

Those are my Sunday Blog thoughts. As usual, other people's experiences and comments are welcome.

Got up early and went to gym. Did 30 minutes on elliptical and lifted, stretched a little. Ran 30 minutes into Providence toward Millville and then back along the TOU course. Ran an additional 6 blocks with the dog. It's nice that it gets light now by 7AM, but we're still loosing the battle against daylight!

Ran from my house to the end of the canal trail and back. Legs are feeling pretty good and bouncy.