When you run out of running magazines to read…

Posted on February 13, 2008 by threlkeld

…you can move on to the running message boards.

It truly is possible to spend too much time reading running-related message boards. One of my favorites is Lets Run (“Where your dreams become reality” — uh, okay). It’s more editorially schizophrenic than the Wall Street Journal.

On the one hand, you have threads with titles like “Who are the 10 hottest female steeplechasers?” On the other, you have incredibly wonky threads that give way to posts like this one (excerpted):

For the record I don’t agree with the model proposed by “Balance” either–several inaccuracies are present.

1) Pyruvate is initially a precursor to lactate during glycolysis. The equilibrium between pyruvate and lactate is such that cytosolic lactate concentrations are about 10 times cytosolic pyruvate concentrations. Pyruvate first though.

2) The formation of lactate from lactate which is catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase *consumes* a proton rather than donates one. Pyruvic acid has a Pka of 2.49 while lactic acid has Pka of 3.86, therefore pyruvic acid is actually a stronger acid than lactic acid!

Do you actually want more? Here’s the whole thread.

When I find myself reading something like the above, I know it’s time to shut off the computer, go downstairs and do something more worthwhile with my dwindling time on Earth.

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"Unless you run marathons…"

Posted on July 18, 2007 by threlkeld

“…you probably won’t get much protection from common colds by taking a daily supplemental dose of vitamin C, according to an updated review of 30 studies,” so says this article.

Taking vitamin C did nothing for most people except “…they found that people exposed to periods of high stress — such as marathon runners, skiers and soldiers on sub-arctic exercises — were 50 percent less likely to catch a cold if they took a daily dose of vitamin C.”

If you’re a marathon runner, you could read this one of two ways: you’re lucky that you can do something to prevent colds besides washing your hands and being a hermit — or — you’re putting your immune system under a ridiculous amount of stress in pursuit of your sport.

Either way, I’m going to keep popping those C’s.

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Fifty is nifty

Posted on July 16, 2007 by threlkeld

I ran 50 miles this past week, capped with a 12 miler yesterday during which I felt very good and was actually sorry that I wasn’t scheduled to run farther.

This number is of note because it’s the most I’ve ever run in a single week. Aside from a twinge in my left achilles (which I’ve traced to a particular shoe), I’m having no problems (knock wood) with the increased mileage. I’m also getting faster at the same heart rate. Six weeks ago I was clocking 10:30 miles at 70% of maximum heart rate. Now I’m running 9:30 using the same number of heartbeats. I attribute at least some of that jump in cardio fitness to time on the exercise bike.

I’m backing off a little this week, since it was a fairly quick ramp up from ~35 to 50 miles. But I feel very good about my base building progress so far. Now I just need to settle on a training program for the fall and winter.

The Sept issue of Running Times (not yet online) has a good article by Greg McMillan on how not to fade in the final miles of the marathon. One of his secrets is to do longer “long” runs before even starting the actual marathon training phase. I’d previously planned on doing 14 miles as my longest run during this base building phase. But now I’m thinking of throwing in some 18-20 milers. In any case, the article was good food for thought.

I’ve also been working on leg turnover, which has proven to be difficult. I average around 180 steps per minute. I should be doing 190 steps per minute (if I want to run like the champs anyway). Recalibrating my brain to take slightly smaller, more frequent steps isn’t so easy. But I work on it every run now.

Running seems like such a simple thing: put one foot in front of the other; repeat. But it’s not simple and there’s always so much more to learn.

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Reading: Peak Running Performance and Marathon & Beyond

Posted on July 1, 2007 by threlkeld

You know you’re a runner when…

…you have more running magazines than news magazines coming into your home.

I recently got an offer to subscribe to Peak Running Performance for a buck. I love a bargain, so I signed on. For a mere dollar, I get a PDF version of the magazine dumped into my email in box every two months.

The magazine is on the short side, but the articles are of fairly good quality and offer a variety of topics. And they have titles that make me laugh, reflecting subject matter that appeals to, shall we say, a “narrow audience”? How about this months’ feature, entitled “Say Goodbye to Your Gastrointestinal Discomfort!”

It’s a bit like a miniature version of Marathon & Beyond (yet another one I subscribe to). That publication is like a little book. It has subject matter similar to PRP, but with the addition of race reports, historical pieces, personal essays and human interest stories. PRP’s content tends to be more limited to the nuts and bolts of training, nutrition, racing strategy, and injury prevention and recovery.

Anyway, both rags make for good post-run bath reading.

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Reading: "Duel in the Sun"

Posted on June 23, 2007 by threlkeld

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but all is well. Just not all that interesting.

I’m finishing up week three of my 24 week base building program. I’ll run 40 miles this week and eventually work my way up to 65-70 miles per week by mid-November. I’m adding in the miles very gradually, with a “rest week,” in which I pull back the mileage by about 30%, every 3-4 weeks. I want to avoid injury at all costs so I can really train when the time comes. Training for five months with shin splints is not something I want to go through again.

I’m also doing time on the stationary bike — typically around 50 miles a week — primarily for the extra calorie burn, although the cardiovascular benefits are a nice bonus. I’ve managed to drop 15 pounds since mid-February, but it’s been very difficult. Amazing how much that weight wants to stay on. But I keep plugging away at it and am confident that I can get down to a good racing weight by the start of training.

I’ve yet to decide on a training program for the marathon, although I do know that it needs to be an 18 week program. I’m leaning toward one of the 18 week plans in Pete Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning, but I’m not totally sold on it yet.

Nor do I know yet what finishing time I’ll be training for. My goal is to place in the top 10 of the More Marathon in 2008, which means running it in 3:45 or under (assuming the competition is similar to what it’s been in years past). But my dream is to run it under 3:30. That may take me more than a year to get to, if it’s even possible.

I’ll probably do a shorter race toward the end of my base building period to gauge my fitness and go from there. But I’ve got 21 weeks to figure all of this out.

This morning I finished John Brant’s book Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America’s Greatest Marathon. It’s an account of the 1982 Boston Marathon, in which Salazar and Beardsley dominated the race, running as a twosome from mile 9 on and finishing two seconds apart. Yet it’s much more than a 250 page race piece. Structured in alternating chapters describing each man’s life leading up to and beyond that race, Brant weaves in biographies of two men with diametrically opposed personalities and motivations.

Every few chapters you’re returned to the race for a vivid blow-by-blow of the two men battling it out to the finish line. Even if you know the race’s outcome ahead of time it makes for suspenseful, compelling reading. And even if you have little interest in competitive running, the book is interesting in its portrait of two figures who were irrevocably damaged by this one event lasting just over two hours, yet who later found redemption, peace and a tentative friendship. Along the way there are recoveries from catastrophic accidents, seemingly intractable addiction and depression, and heartbreakingly naive attempts at finding miracles. Eventually, some real miracles are found in the form of modern psychiatric medicine and twelve step recovery, not to mention the wisdom of experience and the gift of perspective.

All in all a great story, well told.

Also on this summer’s reading list are…

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Dog of the South by Charles Portis
This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes
In Persuasion Nation by George Saunders

…but I’m saving those for an upcoming extended vacation, so I need to be very disciplined and not crack those spines.

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Women’s 2008 Olympic Trials Web site

Posted on June 2, 2007 by threlkeld

I discovered a very nice Web site for the Boston 2008 trials. Chock full of interviews, photos etc. with those fast, skinny ladies. I only have to knock 1:09:03 off my best marathon time to join them!

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18 mile run number two

Posted on December 31, 2006 by threlkeld

Well, this is getting easier.

I’m still struggling with a shinsplint, now on my right leg. But I soldiered on, doing my second 18 mile long run this morning. I really didn’t feel like going out there. I was tired after two not-s0-great nights of sleep, slightly dehydrated and, of course, experiencing some shin pain. So I laced up my shoes without the best of attitudes.

But it’s new year’s eve, so I wanted to start off next year with the knowledge that I did my best on my training run with just 84 days to go until Marathon Day. It’s always helpful to have a goal for these runs. So my goal for this week was to run the first half at 10:20 and the second half at 10:00. This would be a shade faster that the last 18 miler, in which I averaged a 10:25 over the course of the run.

After the first couple of miles, I realized that in fact I felt quite good, all things considered, so I picked up the pace and ran the first eight miles at around 10:10, then the next eight at around 9:55, and in a serendipitous change of plan ran the last two at marathon pace (around 8:45). I will be tacking on more marathon pace segments at the end of my long runs, as well as running marathon pace shorter runs. The 8:45 pace felt fairly natural, although I was quite tired at the end of the run. My watch reports that I burned 1900 calories. No wonder I inhaled two burritos.

For Christmas, my mother generously gifted me a year’s subscription to Marathon and Beyond. The first issue arrived a few days ago. The January/February issue, at least, is quite good. A nice mix of sports science, essays, runner and race profiles, and training information. I can now add this to the pile of running-related publications coming into the house, including Running Times and Ultrarunning magazines.

Furthering the running theme, my sister gave me a gift certificate to one of my favorite outfitters, Title 9 Sports. I’ll be spending that this afternoon. There are always more running clothes to buy. I’ve had my eye on a running vest for inbetween days like today.

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Gabriel Sherman: What’s your problem?

Posted on September 22, 2006 by threlkeld

Check out this elitist view of “amateurs” who have ruined the marathon in this screed against slow runners from Gabriel Sherman in Slate magazine.

Apparently, if you’re not able to run a sub 3:00 marathon like the author is, you’re not worthy of running a marathon at all and you’re ruining it for the “real” runners. So, who died and made this guy the judge of who’s worthy to run in a marathon? Besides, since he’s at the front of the pack, what does he care who’s behind him?

Anyone who runs a marathon is worthy of admiration, in my mind. Someone who commits to running 26.2 miles has already shown more fortitude and self-discipline than 99.9% of our lethargic population. Would Mr. Sherman prefer all of us back of the pack and midpack runners sit on our couches instead of joining him on the road? I guess so.

Part of what I love about non-professional road racing is that it’s unlike any other sport. Unlike most sports, most of the people are not trying to “win”. And it’s the only sport I can think of where you get a mix of genders and age groups all competing against each other, all on equal terms.

Besides, Mr. Sherman is wrong. Those of us who really care about the sport know who Deena Kastor is. We’re just happy to be able to run in the same race with her, even if she’s miles ahead of us. She was miles of ahead of Sherman too, but he seems to have forgotten that.

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Fun! Excitement! Adventcha!

Posted on September 22, 2006 by threlkeld

Journalist and endurance athlete Martin Dugard has an interesting blog: The Paper Kenyan. (I have no idea why it’s called the Paper Kenyan, but I’m sure I’ll find out eventually). It’s been around since July 2005. I just added it to my list of blogs.

HIs focus is endurance sports, travel and adventure. His posts are often quite long (hey, he’s a writer), but very well written (hey, he’s a writer) and interesting. And he’s committed to posting every weekday, which is more than I can say for most bloggers, myself included.

As the kids like to say, “Check it out.”

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Ultramarathon Orgy!

Posted on August 2, 2006 by threlkeld

I’d better post something before this blog slides further into entropy…

Work has been, and continues to be, insane. And I just got a big freelance project that should keep me busy through late fall/early winter. Yay and yikes. Which explains the lack of blogging and lack of vacation pictures.

So, back to something running related…

I have been on an “ultramarathon” jag lately, which has involved reading a couple of books by endurance athletes, and renting a movie about the infamous Badwater race (more on this in a moment).

I don’t know why I’m suddenly into this stuff. Perhaps it’s the strange pleasure that comes from vicarious suffering. Another theory is that I’ve made a recent mental shift, deciding that I want to train to run in a marathon in 2007. Maybe the prospect of running 26.2 miles is made easier by reading about people who run 100+ mile races.

The two books I’ve read are:

Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes
Badwater: A Man, Dealth Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance by Kirk Johnson

And the film:

Running on the Sun by Mel Stuart

The Karnazes book is a quick, interesting read. While he’s not the best writer in the world, his writing style is lighthearted and engaging. And his accounts of long training runs and ultramarathon events such as Badwater, the Western States 100 and the first (and perhaps last) marathon in the South Pole are fascinating. And the fact that he’s accomplished things that don’t seem physically possible is very inspiring. Right now, Karnazes is embarking on another first: The Endurance 50 — 50 successive marathons in 50 states over 50 days. Of course, this seems crazy. But so have many of the other challenges he’s embarked on and accomplished.

The book offers handy tips. For example, did you know you can fix a bad blister with Krazy Glue and duct tape? It’s all true.

The book is marred by some unflattering (unbeknownst to the author, it seems) elements of self-portrait — the author comes off as boorish and callous at times. And his constant protestations about how much his entire family loves riding around in a camper for days on end, feeding him as he runs along the road, makes me wonder how harmonious the arrangement really is.

A bookend (if you will) to the Karnazes book is Johnson’s book. Where Karnazes comes off as a confident (if foolhardy) pro, Johnson is a guy you can sort of relate to. After his brother, a serious runner, committed suicide, Johnson (who’d never run a marathon) decided to train for Badwater in an attempt to understand his brother and reunite his somewhat distant family members.

For the unitiated, The Badwater Ultramarathon is called the “world’s toughest footrace.” It’s a 135 mile race. From nearly 300 feet below sea level to the top of Mt. Whitney (at 8,300 feet). Did I mention that Mt. Whitney is in Death Valley? Oh, and the race is in the middle of summer? Jeeeezus Christ.

This book offers another — and more detailed — account of what it’s like to run Badwater. Johnson is a professional journalist and a superb writer. But I found the book self-indulgent in many spots and sometimes downright whiney. On the other hand, there was a pleasure in watching him go from nervous newbie marathoner to the finish line of Badwater. I just wish he’d spent more words describing the race and fewer describing his internal struggles. But, it’s a book about discovering one’s self and one’s familial bonds, so I can forgive him for that. It’s a page turner, and what higher compliment can you pay a book about an adventure?

Finally, there’s the movie Running on the Sun. This was a really fun movie to watch (if “fun” is the right word). If you ever had illusions about running a race like Badwater, this will destroy them soundly. The documentary is fascinating, because it not only gives you a sense of actually being at the race, but it emphasizes that the people who run it are ordinary people — ordinary people who just happen to have the desire, discipline and fortitude to try to do something extraordinary. Like the Karnazes book, the movis is both entertaining and inspiring.

And I now know I’ll never run Badwater.

And that’s okay.

Filed under: movies, reading | 1 Comment »

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