Philadelphia Half Marathon Training: Week 5

This week's update comes to you from Driggs, Idaho where we are vacationing with some of our best friends from Charlotte in the shadow of the Grand Tetons.

Week 5 started off on the wrong foot but ended on a high note. Sunday night as we walked to Lauren's birthday dinner, I was hit with a sudden wave of nausea. Over the next 48 hours whatever illness I had left me completely dehydrated and drained of energy. Fortunately, it went away as quickly as it came and with adjustments to my training plan, lots of sleep and constant water and electrolytes, I was able to pick up exactly where I left off.

Monday: 6 easy miles in Central Park. Easy is really not appropriate for this run. I was feeling quite sick and just wanted this to be over. I did 30 minutes of core when I got home then collapsed in bed until work.

Tuesday: Run fail. As soon as I started this run I knew I shouldn't have. I stopped and restarted three times in eight minutes before finally listening to my body and walking home to sleep for three more hours until work.

Wednesday: 14 miles with eight miles at 5:55 pace on the West Side Highway. This was originally supposed to be the day I did my primary workout for the week, but given the past two days, Terry and I agreed that it might be too aggressive coming off an illness. I did my secondary workout instead which was a medium long run with the eight middle miles at somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:00 pace. As soon as I started running I was surprised by how much energy I had. Apparently two days of rest not only helped beat the illness, they also rejuvenated tired legs. 5:55 pace came easy and on the cool down I still had plenty left in the tank.

Thursday: 9 miles along the Hudson River north. I've been experiencing a bit of Central Park fatigue. Today, I decided to head North along the Hudson for the first time in a long time. It's a beautiful run with views of the George Washington Bridge, the Little Red Lighthouse and the New Jersey Palisades. 30 minutes of core.

Friday: 9.5 miles in Central Park. The best way to beat Central Park fatigue is to go off the beaten path. Allie was searching for some places to do intervals so we went to some of my favorite spots. Before I knew it, the run was over and it was time for six 20 second strides.

Saturday: 3x3 miles at 17:01, 17:00 and 16:19 with a half-mile at 6:30 pace in between each set. This was the workout that gave me butterflies from the first time I saw it on my calendar.  I did not want it to be hanging over my head all week, but because I had to delay until Saturday it was. Fortunately, my Urban Athletics teammate Tom was willing to join me as this is not an easy workout to do solo. We did the first two intervals in exactly 5:40 pace as planned. The entire time I was worried about being able to go significantly quicker on the last set. Yet, somehow both Thomas and I found the extra gear to put a solid finish on a successful workout. The total mileage for the day was 19, my highest since the winter.  After the run, I ate a donut and sat in a tub full of ice.

Sunday: 5 mile death march in Driggs, Idaho. The combination of no sleep, eight hours of traveling across the country, yesterday's workout and 6,400 feet of elevation made this a pretty terrible run. But, it's beautiful out here and I'm excited to get in some solid runs in the mountains and on the trails.

Total mileage: 63.7 with the unplanned day off.

Beer of the Week:  Grand Teton Brewing Amber

When in Rome. This brewery is less than 10 miles from where we are staying, but their beers are distributed throughout the region. The Amber is probably the most basic of the beers they make. I've tried an American Pale Ale, a Brown Ale and a Weiss that are pretty awesome. But after a long day of travel and a tough run, this was the most refreshing drink in the fridge. And since I am typing this on my ipad, here is a ginormous picture of the bottle.

Next week: Mountain miles, hikes and lots of beer!!

Philadelphia Half Marathon Training: Week 4

I'm a little late on this recap mostly because Sunday night while walking to Lauren's birthday dinner, I was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea.  I was able to fight through yesterday by sleeping nine hours, running, then laying back in bed until work.  Today, the run just wasn't happening.  I made it seven minutes before completely running out of gas.  Instead, I'm back in bed with a juice blend full of so many juices one of them has to cure me and writing this update.

Monday -- 30 minutes core.   After a race weekend and with a high intensity week ahead, this rest day was much needed.

Tuesday -- 8.2 easy miles in Central Park.  I had good company from Allie and my original NYC running partner Heidi on this warm, but casual run around the park. 

Wednesday -- 4x3200 with 400 jog rest at Riverbanks Track.  I had originally planned on turning this into a straight 4x2miles on the West Side Highway, but Jerry convinced me to take it to the track where he would keep me company.  My goals were 11:30, 11:00, 11:00 and sub-11:00.  Jerry said he was going to run his around his marathon pace, so as we set off on the first interval, I tried to make sure he had 10-15 meters on me.  We finished the first 3200 in 10:53 and I knew I was going to have to go big if I wanted to salvage the original intent of this workout and not go backwards.  It was a lot of work, but the subsequent 3200s were 10:49, 10:43 and 10:44.  I don't think I could have pushed myself that hard without Jerry.   This workout was a big step forward in restoring confidence.  I ended up running 14 miles total for the day with warmup and cool down to and from the track.

Thursday -- 7 easy miles in Central Park. Missed connection with Allie today.  She was running late and I was on a pretty tight schedule, so I ended up running solo.  30 minutes of core.

Friday -- 9.2 miles solo in Central Park, mostly on the Bridle Path.  12.4 miles on the ElliptiGO.

Saturday -- 14 miles with 10x1 minute at 5K effort.  I have lived in New York for more than three years, but had never ventured to Summer Streets.  Summer Streets happens the first three Saturdays in August.  The city shuts down Park Avenue to traffic from 72nd Street to the bottom of the island and opens it to bikers, runners, walkers, rollerbladers, etc. I think my hesitation was that it wouldn't be conducive to quality running, but as Jerry, John and I ran down a wide-open four-lane street, I was proven mostly wrong.  We were able to click off a solid 6:30 pace without anyone getting in our way or us getting in theirs.  However, we did have one confrontation with a tourist on a bike who loudly complained about runners then called us a derogatory name for the male anatomy.  Three years ago, I would have ignored something like that, but after dealing with rude people since 2011, I fight back.  I stopped to see if she would mind repeating herself, which she did.  Words were exchanged and then her gentleman companion rode up to Jerry and started picking a fight with him. It ended with Jerry shoving the man's bike away.  He didn't fall, but he didn't come back.  Runners are scrappy.

Sunday -- 15 miles in Central Park.  We had a huge group for this run.  That almost made up for the stifling heat and humidity.

Total Weekly Mileage: 67.4

Beer of the Week:
Brooklyn Wild Streak

I really like the Brooklyn Brewery.  I know it's the cool thing to do, but I like everything I try there and I've tried almost everything.  In fact, over the past few years, Brooklyn Summer Ale has become my default, easy-to-find summer beer (it had been Sam Adams for years).  I had never heard of and knew nothing about Wild Streak when I came across it hidden in a cooler at Broadway Dive Saturday afternoon.  Wild Streak was a "ghost" beer, only poured at tastings and special Brooklyn Brewery events.  It's recently graduated to a season release.  It's aged in bourbon barrels and with a 10% ABV, it's not for the faint of heart.  It only comes in 25.9 ounce bottles, so I split mine with a friend.  Yet, for the high alcohol content of a Strong Belgian Ale, it's incredibly drinkable.  Try it if you can find it.

Oh, and download this:
Foxygen: How Can You Really?
Spoon: They Want My Soul (the whole album. Just awesome.  But, start with "New York Kiss" and "Rent I Pay" if you want to test some tracks first.)

Next week: Illness adjustments and preparing for a vacation.  At this point the thought of beer or any kind of liquid that is not water or juice makes me feel ill.  That will go away.

Lessons Learned as a 30-Year-Old Runner

30 is not old.  Not even close.  But 30 is also not 20.  It’s not 25 either.  Just like different things being socially acceptable at 25, but not so much at 30 (black out drunk at 25?  Young and fun!  Black out drunk at 30?  Get your shit together), there are things you can do as a runner at 25 that you can’t do at 30.  It doesn’t happen in an instant.  I didn’t wake up on September 26, 2013 and realize I had aged overnight. But in the course of my 30^th year, I have noticed a few hitches in my giddy up.  And there’s some good things too.  So as I approach my final month of being 30, I thought I’d pass along some wisdom to those of you who aren’t quite there yet.

You can’t just roll out of bed and run 6:30s – Ya know what guys, I’m just going to start this run at a nice 8:00 pace.  You go on ahead.  I’ll catch up.

In fact, you can’t just roll out of bed and run anything – I used to roll out of my bed and into my running shoes.  Sometimes I was still asleep a good three miles into the run.  Now a 9am run means an 8am wakeup at the latest. I can’t run until I have eaten at least an energy bar and drank a small cup of coffee and both have been successfully digested.  Then, I have to do at least 15 minutes of foam rolling, sticking, pacing and stretching which leads me to…

Stretching is not optional – Like every other distance runner on the planet, I hate to stretch.  I don’t need to recite the lecture you've already heard from your chiropractor, physical therapist and/or massage therapist.  I’ll just say, turns out stretching serves a purpose.  You might be able to get by without stretching for most of your youth, but I promise you it will catch up to you.

The candle only has one end – Just keeping a regular exercise routine while working full-time is a challenge.  Training for a marathon with a demanding job is a whole other level and I don’t even have kids.  For most non-super-humans, there is a shelf-life on 12-hour work days and 100 mile weeks.  I’ve surpassed my expiration date.  I know runners well into their 30s who have not.  The key is knowing when it’s time to back off.  Backing off doesn’t involve waving any white flags, or training any less-hard (I googled the crap out of a better way to say “less-hard”).  It just means training different.  Maybe it’s fewer miles. Maybe it’s easier easy days.  Maybe it’s more prehab.  Maybe it’s an extra day off.  You’ll find what works for you after you find what doesn’t.

Your age group gets way easier – Here’s a good thing.  Nine out of ten times, the 30-34 age group is way easier than the 25-29 age group.  Speaking from New York City running experience, all the Kenyans and Ethiopians are in the 25-29 age group here.  Not that I get too many jollies out of placing in my age group, but  it can be demoralizing to not even crack the top 10 with a time that would have easily placed in the adjacent categories.  Since turning 30?  Top 10 every time.

Just because you can afford every specialist now, doesn’t mean you should go to every specialist – Here’s a rule I wish I had known when I had no money to spend.  If it feels like a stress fracture, it’s a stress fracture.  I just saved you $500 on an MRI.  Ok, so you have a stress fracture.  Stop running.  When it stops hurting, start running again.  Gradually.  I just saved you $100 on a doctor’s office visit.  I still see a lot of specialists, but you’ll spend a lot less if you see them to avoid getting injured as opposed to after getting injured.

You don’t have to keep all your gear – Yeah that race in 2005 was awesome, but I’m pretty sure the stink from nine years of running in the tech shirt is not going to come out with a sandblaster. So maybe it’s time to toss it?

As I said, every runner is different.  At NYRR Team Championships last weekend I got out-kicked by a man who was much older than me.  I looked him up in the results and saw he is 48.  If the race had been decided by age grade, he would have been first overall.  One thing I think is applicable across the board is that no matter what the date is on your drivers license, running keeps you young.  May you all run many more miles for many more years.  We’ll chat again in 10 years when I’m telling you 40 is not 30.

Philadelphia Half Marathon Training: Week 3

At dinner last night I told Lauren how nice it felt to be “in a good place” for the first time in a long time.  I am not sure what exactly triggered the change; the move, weather that is neither oppressively hot or dangerously cold, finally finding a routine...who knows?  And who cares?  I’ll stop beating this drum, but hope it reverberates.  With three solid weeks of training for Philly in the books, the doubts I had about being able to run a respectable time are starting to fade, and I am even targeting a four-mile PR in early September.  More on that later.  For now, week 3.

Monday – 6 miles easy in Central Park before a 12 mile ElliptiGO ride.  The legs were definitely feeling the high-mileage of the weekend and yesterday’s massage.

Tuesday – 90 minute run with 6400 meters of alternating 200s (37/47).  I had never done anything like this before and while the times looked simple on paper, the thought of four miles alone and continuous on the track was a bit daunting.  I had trouble dialing in the paces for the first mile and ran the “off” 200s too quickly, but once I was able to find the right speed this workout flew by.  Unfortunately, every child in Harlem was playing in the infield of the track this morning so a couple of the laps included unexpected obstacles in the form of soccer balls and small clusters of kids wandering out into lane one (adult supervisors paying no attention).  The entire 90 minutes ended up being 13.2 miles with the 6400 meters in 22:08 (5:32/mile).

Wednesday – 8 miles easy on the Central Park Bridle Path.  This was a slow recovery run.  I tried to avoid turning left as much as I could since I hit my left turn quota yesterday.  30 minutes of core.

Thursday – 7 miles easy in Central Park.  Allie and I kept our weekly Thursday run at a very easy 8:00 pace as she had a cold and I had the two-day workout hangover. 

Friday – 7 miles easy on the Central Park Bridle Path.  In the middle of the run, I did 7x20 second pre-race strides.

Saturday – NYRR Team Championship 5 Mile Race in Central Park. For the first time in more than a year, I was actually pretty excited about lining up for a race.  I was feeling relatively fit and rested, but mostly was curious to see what I was capable of running.  My goal going into the race was 26:30 which is not my PR, but is faster than I had run since late 2012.  In fact, I hadn’t cracked 27:00 since this same race last year.  Yeah, things have been rough.  I never get much sleep the night before a Saturday race.  I woke up at 7:45 and had two chia waffles with peanut butter and grabbed a small cup of coffee before hopping in a cab to the east side of the park.  There was a light rain when the women’s race went off, but by the time we started warming up it was just plain soupy.  I felt terrible during the two mile warm-up, which is a good thing (I’m always suspect of feeling loose and springy during a warm-up jog.  It usually means the race will be the opposite).  When the horn sounded, I tucked into a pretty big group of guys that I knew to be around my goal speed and let them set the early pace.  I realized early on that I had forgotten to turn on the GPS function on my watch which after a brief moment of panic, wound up being a blessing in disguise.  The first mile of the course consists of all three of the West Side Hills. There is really no better place for them because it gets my least favorite stretch of the park out of the way early. I was feeling very good the first two miles and split much faster on the hills than I have in the past.  The second mile of the race was my fastest.  By mile three our group had dwindled to two or three familiar faces and I decided to take the lead. I held on until the base of Cat Hill where a guy from NYAC passed me and opened a pretty big gap.  I never caught back up to him.  Cat Hill was my slowest mile, but I recovered decently and pulled away from two of the others guys in my group, beating them to the finish line and finishing in 26:21 (5:17/mile).  Splits: 5:11 (West Side Hills), 5:07, 5:15, 5:29 (Cat Hill -- Yikes!), 5:18.  With seven combined miles before and after the race and a 2.5 mile shakeout in the evening, total mileage for the day was 14.5

Sunday – 16 miles in Central Park with a big group.  Despite two or three too many glasses of sangria last night, I felt fine until mile 14 of this run. The last two miles were a death march.  I would have cut it short but I had to get home.  20 minutes of core in the evening.

Total Weekly Mileage: 72.7

Next Week: A rest day, long intervals and a classic go-to workout.

Beer of the Week:

Dogfish Head Namaste

The internet is full of odes to Dogfish Head and rightfully so.  Still, when Lauren brought this beer home, I wanted to like it not love it so I could chose a more unknown brewery.  I loved it.  This year, Namaste made the leap from seasonal champagne-size bottles to year-round six packs. I had a bottle with Lauren's homemade banana, peanut butter ice cream before bed Friday night (pre-race carbs).  It’s a really refreshing, easy-to-drink beer without sacrificing too much flavor.  I actually had trouble not downing it in one swig.  It’s made with orange slices and coriander (I’m not actually sure what coriander is, but I like it in beer.)

Philadelphia Half Marathon Training : Week 2 & Introducing The Beer of the Week

I had forgotten what it felt like to feel good about running. Despite the inescapable humidity of New York City in July, I'm enjoying running more than I have in nearly two years.  Granted, it's only the second week of training for the Philly Half.  But, I'm experiencing an renewed sense of confidence. Instead of being so nervous I can't sleep the night before a tough workout what keeps me up now is excitement.  It's a good problem to have.

Monday - Rest Day (30 minutes of core).  I've been taking one day off every two weeks for several months now.  That will continue during this cycle.  I crave the restoration, but always end the day wishing I had run.  I think that's a good balance. This worked well because it was also a travel day back from visiting family in Virginia.

Tuesday - 8 miles easy in Central Park.  I thought yesterday's rest would mean I wouldn't feel Sunday's hills today, but I was wrong.  It took me at least 30 minutes to loosen up.

Wednesday - 5x1600m (60 second/200m jog rest) repeats at Harlem Riverbanks Track.  The goal was to do these at half-marathon pace (5:30) and add one second for every degree the dew point was over 64.  The dew point was 67 when I left the house.  Based on that, I should have been running 5:33s.  When I ran the first one in 5:13, I knew I was in trouble.  The workout spiraled out of control after that and I ended up doing the perfect ascension.  Looking back, I could have taken a longer rest after the first one to completely recover and start from scratch, but I decided to keep trucking on with diminishing results.  I also may have been more successful had I not been doing this on my own.  I almost quit 200 meters into the last one, but knew I would regret that for the rest of the week if I had.  The repeats were: 5:13, 5:18, 5:20, 5:23, 5:28. 

Thursday - 6.5 miles easy in Central Park.  This was the first time in 10 days I ran with someone.  I met Allie at the top of the park for a lap.  We were both coming off very similar workouts (her's more successful than mine) so we started slow and eased into it. 30 minutes of core.

Friday - 8 miles easy in Central Park.  This was the typical two-day workout hangover.  I did 7x20 second strides mid-run.

Saturday - Prescribed was a long run with 7m @ 630,20,10,00,550, 40, 30.  It ended up going perfectly.  I met a group at UA at 9:40 and together we did 4 miles easy starting at 8:00 minute pace and working down to 7:00 minute pace. As we rolled into the progression, my goal was to stick to the prescribed paces no matter how easy they felt with hopes of still feeling strong when the pace got quick at the end.  We decided to only cut out the Harlem Hills and only do this on the 5 mile loop.  As we neared the final two miles, Jason and I stuck to the park's lower loop to avoid having to do the final mile climbing up Cat Hill.  The progression went as follows:

6:26, 6:07, 6:07 (west side hills), 5:49, 5:40, 5:30, 5:22

There was an option for an eighth mile but I was pretty satisfied with the workout at seven. The last mile certainly wasn't easy, but holding back in the initial miles was key to making it even possible.

Sunday - 12.5 miles easy in Central Park.  Today was one of those days where it was so humid that I was sweating before the run started.  There wasn't much residual soreness from yesterday's workout, just some tightness. I was glad to have Tom, Jason and Allie for company on this run as the conditions were very uncomfortable.  I ended the week with an hour-long, incredibly over-due massage and 30 minutes of core.

Total Weekly Mileage: 63.5

Next Week: Seven days of running, a workout I've never done before and a race!

One of my training secrets is a healthy dose of carbs in the form of beer.  Each week, I'll highlight a beer I tried to "recover" from a workout or "prepare" for a long run.

This week's Beer of the Week:

40 Mile IPA, Three Notch'd Brewing Company, Charlottesville, VA:

This was a six-pack left as a gift from a house guest who was staying at our apartment while we were actually in the Charlottesville area.  40 Mile is the flagship beer of the Three Notch'd Brewery.  40 miles is how long a fellow by the name of Jack Jouett rode to warn Thomas Jefferson and his family that their capture had been ordered.  Jefferson of course, lived in Charlottesville.  The beer named for this chapter in Jefferson's history is a crisp and clean IPA.  It's hoppy obviously, but also has a nice citrus taste to it that offsets some of the bitterness.

Philadelphia Half Marathon Training: Week 1

Since finishing the 2013 Boston Marathon mildly over-trained and on the verge of a spate of illnesses, my running has been sporadic at best. I've documented all the issues that lead up to the 2014 Boston Marathon, but it's worth noting that I stopped really enjoying taking part in the sport about two years ago.  Sure, there had been flashes of competitiveness and drive, but mostly weeks of grinding out joyless miles and workouts without any continuity or flow.  During that time, I ran a couple of sub-par races and often wondered if maybe it was time to run for a different reason and let go of PR dreams.  However, over the past month or so, the bug has returned.  My health is back and with pre-hab and a couple of tweaks to the mileage and intensity of my early 20s, I seem to be staving off injury. After completing (and enjoying) my most recent sub-par race, I decided the fix to my stressed relationship with running may instead be re-establishing some structure and actually putting a goal race on the calendar.

Last week, I started a 10 week training plan for the Rock n' Roll Philly Half Marathon on September 21st. Realistically, I don't think a PR is possible at this point, but a respectable performance is not out of the question.  The random workouts I was doing in the spring were mostly focused on speed and as a result, my aerobic capacity is greatly diminished.  So, the goal of this abbreviated training cycle will be to get my body used to running at goal half marathon pace (5:30?).  Weekly mileage will stay between 60-75 with one day off every two weeks.  And while the paces on the workouts look easy, the number of intervals are where the challenge lies. I'll also be getting used to working out in the late morning during the heat of the summer.  With my work schedule, this is my only option and I will have to adjust paces and expectations accordingly. Another major change in this cycle is the limited use of the Garmin.  I could write an entire blog on how I've gone from loving the GPS to hating the GPS, but let's just say it will only be used on tempo runs.

Week 1
Monday: 6 miles easy in Central Park, 30 minutes of core.

Tuesday: 12 miles total; 8 x 1K @ 3:17-3:20 with 200m jog (60s) at Riverbanks Track

Wednesday: 8 miles easy in Central Park, 30 minutes of core.

Thursday: 8 miles easy in Central Park (meant to do 7 but was daydreaming and ran too far)7x20 sec. strides

Friday: 13.64 miles (wore Garmin) 90 minute medium long run with middle 5 miles at 5:54, 5:59(Harlem Hill), 5:58(WS Hills), 5:57, 5:48, 5:57.

Saturday: 9.5 miles in the rain in Staunton, VA.  I got lost.

Sunday: 15.6 mile very hilly long run in Staunton, VA.  

Total Weekly Mileage: 72.7 

Notes: *On days following workouts, it took about 3 miles to really loosen up. 
           *Running too far on Thursday is a good thing.  It has been a long time since I got so lost in thought on an easy run that I totally lost track of time and place. 
           *This was my highest total mileage since mid-February when I was training for Boston.
           *I ran every single mile solo this week.  Such is the life. 

Giving the ElliptiGO a Go!

I'll admit it.  The first time I saw someone riding an ElliptiGO, I said to myself, "I am never getting on one of those things." As a lanky distance runner, "Game of Thrones" fan and someone who spent the bulk of my college years holed up in a TV control room, I wasn't really looking for anything else that established my nerdiness.  An elliptical machine on wheels?  How about I just give myself an atomic wedgie and save the bullies some time.

That was five years ago.  Years of wear and tear on my body from high mileage, a long list of injuries, a complete hatred for pool running and a New York City-developed lack of caring about what other people think have all drastically altered my perspective.  So, it came to be that one day late this spring, my friends Josh and Tanya and I were embarking on our virgin ElliptiGO voyage around Central Park.

Admittedly, I look like a huge dork here, but that has nothing to do with the ElliptiGO

On that maiden 19 mile ride, a few things became abundantly clear.  First is that most people think the ElliptiGO looks super cool.  It was a busy, beautiful Sunday afternoon and countless people stopped us to ask not only what it was we were riding, but how they can get one.  They seemed genuinely interested.  This has been the case on every subsequent ride.  Second, it's a lot of fun to ride.  You might have preconceived notions based on mind-numbing stationary elliptical rides where time seems to stop and all you can do is cover the clock with your sweat rag to stop yourself from going insane.  This isn't that.  You can pick up a lot of speed on the flats, fly down the hills and the uphills present a challenge that culminates with a real sense of accomplishment once you reach the top.  And third, it's one hell of a workout.  I don't want to brag, but I'm an expert on cross training.  I've logged a lot of hours in pools and on cardio machines and I can tell you, riding the ElliptiGO is the best thing you can do for running fitness besides actually running.  There is a reason the list of pro-runners using ElliptiGOs is rapidly expanding.

Just days after that first ride, I rode with one of ElliptiGO's sales managers, Jeff Caron then met with Bryan Pate, one of the founders of the company and their top spokesman, Boston Marathon Champ Meb Keflezighi  (Meb, 39, substituted some of his easy runs with ElliptiGO rides and became the first American to win Boston in 30 years). Their plan was to get more ElliptiGOs in the park.  This month, in conjunction with Bike and Roll, ElliptiGO launched a membership program allowing anyone to ride as much as they want.  I've already incorporated regular rides into my weekly training regimen in an effort to take some of the pounding off my legs and stay healthy for an entire race season.  As for my partners on that first ride, Josh and Tanya are riding the ElliptiGOs from San Francisco to Los Angeles later this summer.  You can follow their journey here.