H.I.T.

A new book, Healthy Intelligent Training (aka H.I.T.), by New Zealander Keith Livingstone, attemps to more coherently convey the training methods of the late Arthur Lydiard. Livingstone, in an interview found here, says that "long work CANNOT be compromised." He goes on to say:

"Too many personal trainers and 'sports scientists' with ponytails and compression tights have been assiduously chipping away at the edges of Lydiardism, peddling their compromised versions, till all we get is meaningless articles in popular running mags for the masses warning people of the dangers of good old-fashioned, decent mileage. What a load of cobblers!"

"I’ve seen plenty of people who couldn’t run out of sight on a dark night just get stuck into mileage and totally embarrass more highly talented people cautiously and carefully coached by people with ponytails. One guy coached by Magee or Dick Quax ended up with a sub-30 10k track title and a 2:15 marathon, and at full speed he resembled a Clydesdale towing a full harness and plough. Forgotten his name at present, but he did the job, didn’t he? That’s all that counts in the end."

I don't intend to buy or read this book, because I thought that Arthur Lydiard's "Running with Lydiard" made plenty of sense.

Interesting stuff, though.

Kelly Jaske

A testament to the fruit of hard work.

Marathon #3 Disney

Yesterday I finished my third marathon, the Disney Marathon in Florida. All and all it went pretty well, and I finished just under 3:30, which was what I was expecting. I did my normal start fast and crash at the end. I started out doing a 7:30-7:45 pace and held that for the first 15-20 miles. Then about 8:00-8:20 pace for 5 miles or so, then the last couple were slow and painful.

Chip time: 3:29:44
5 mile: 38:04
10 Mile: 1:15:56
Half: 1:39:58
20 Mile: 2:34:34

I think in order to hold the pace I will need to ramp up the training to 35 miles per week and then peak at 45-50. For now I will need a break, as my legs hurt.

The Disney Marathon has its ups and downs. On the upside there is a pretty good vibe that is very festive, laid back, and without the serious competitive vibe in other races. I think the vast majority of the 14,000 runners go very slow stopping along the way to take pictures with various Disney characters. The course was ok. Running through parts of Disney and Epcot were kind of cool as they were lined with people but there were many miles on the highway and in parking lots. A couple stretches were nice 2 lane roads in the woods. Generally the Orlando/Disney area really sucks. All the roads are divided highways with tons of stoplights and traffic. Not really my cup of tea.

One thing I really didn't like was that the race started at 5:50AM, as apparently it can be very hot. This meant I was up at 4:30 and I think most people were up even earlier. I still stood in the start corral 40 mins until the start. The race was well staffed, but more water would have been nice. There was no water available at the start, and some of the stations only had powerade. No GU, some other stuff that I didn't try. I also didn't like that they had all the refreshments at the end of the race sectioned off from the public. Once the runners left the finisher area to meet friends and family they had no access to food or water, and I could only carry so much.

The best part of the race, was that my nipples got a bit chafed, as you can see in the picture above. It wasn't nearly as bad as it looked, but I had dumped a couple things of water on my head so it made the blood run down my shirt. People were horrified!

An excellent, excellent opinion article in WSJ this morning. Must, must read!!!

'Alternative' Medicine Is Mainstream

This article was written by honest professionals in the medical industry who are not trying to benefit from a gimmick or otherwise. These professionals are straight-shooting, and their sound advice must reach a larger proportion of the population in order to have any effect on the current medical crisis.

Where I'm At

The Disney Marathon is 1 week from today. I haven't been feeling particularly strong on my recent runs. I think my last 20 mile run in the snow did me in pretty good. Legs have generally felt pretty tired and sore. I think I will need to view this marathon as a training build up for another in the spring or summer. I'll be happy with 3.5 hrs and no injuries.