I tried to do a 20 miler yesterday evening. I was all good (very much enjoying the Nick AuYeung Memorial Loop around Mansfield Hollow) until about mile 15 and started feeling pretty sick in the stomach, chilled, light headed. I got back to my place in about 17 miles and had to stop. Drank some water, and had to make a quick trip to the bathroom to clean out my intestine. During the second trip to the bathroom I noticed blood in my urine. That was a bit unnerving, but it's gone now, and I feel the same as I usually do after long runs.
I'm not sure what went wrong. I drank 24 oz of gatorde and 12 oz of water while running ( I stopped at a gym in Willi and got a fill up). Perhaps the gatorade did me wrong. Or maybe I ate too much for dinner the night before? The blood in urine suggests dehydration so perhaps I didn't drink enough.
So now what? Should I go for a 20 miler next weekend or continue with my training schedule as if I ran the whole 20?
8.16.2007
8.14.2007
Outdoor, public cigarette smoking...
What's your view on smoking in outdoor, public seating areas? For example, there's a coffee shop on the corner of Church and Grove in New Haven, and on Grove there is a seating area for the coffee shop patrons, and presumably, anyone that'd like to take a load off. I sit in this seating area during my lunch hour, and, invariably, I'm among at least one, but often more, cigarette smokers. Despite being outdoors, the smoke is bothersome. I never noticed this until recently. Today, a chain-smoking woman finished a cigarette at 12:57, lit another one at 1:03; finished it at 1:08; lit another one at 1:09; finished it at...I couldn't stand to sit in that area any longer. Based on the time between finishing one cigarette and finishing another one--11 minutes--she smokes nearly 6 cigarettes/hour and 96/day OR practically 5 packs/day!
8.13.2007
Torrington Road Race 2007
I ran the Torrington Road Race yesterday and, to my surprise, did quite well. I managed to shave more than 30 seconds from my last year's pace (2006: 8:00; 2007: 7:28)! This wasn't at all a result of speed work, but purely my increase in mileage over the last two months. It felt great to run faster and to be able to maintain a faster pace for the duration of the race. I felt strong through the finish. I hope, someday, to be able to compete with some of my fellow bloggers.
Interesting statistic: Since beginning marathon training on the last Monday of June, none of my training runs have been faster than 9:30/mile (more than 3/4 of my training runs were slower than 10:00/mile).
Interesting question: When do we stop benefiting (in terms of speed) from more mileage and, in turn, stronger running muscles and start needing to integrate speed work into our training to get faster?
Prior to beginning marathon training, all of my "training" runs were between 8:00 and 9:00/mile, except for the small percentage that were faster than 8:00/mile. HOWEVER, I rarely broke 8:00/mile in races (5k and farther). And when I did, it was by only a few seconds.
Results
Interesting statistic: Since beginning marathon training on the last Monday of June, none of my training runs have been faster than 9:30/mile (more than 3/4 of my training runs were slower than 10:00/mile).
Interesting question: When do we stop benefiting (in terms of speed) from more mileage and, in turn, stronger running muscles and start needing to integrate speed work into our training to get faster?
Prior to beginning marathon training, all of my "training" runs were between 8:00 and 9:00/mile, except for the small percentage that were faster than 8:00/mile. HOWEVER, I rarely broke 8:00/mile in races (5k and farther). And when I did, it was by only a few seconds.
Results
8.10.2007
Week 7 -- Midweek
As a result of having to change around my week 7 schedule to accommodate Sunday's race, yesterday was a rest day. It was much-needed. My legs were very tired on Wednesday, and my left knee acted up, which hadn't happened in quite sometime. My left foot has been bothering me, also.
I'm scheduled to run about 7 miles today. It looks like I'll be doing that in rainy conditions, but at least it will be cooler than it has been.
I'm scheduled to run about 7 miles today. It looks like I'll be doing that in rainy conditions, but at least it will be cooler than it has been.
8.07.2007
Running Twice Per Day
Should you run twice per day? Pete Pfitzinger, M.S. says no to runners training for marathons and running less than 75 miles per week. He makes some good arguments. One such being that you should get used to depleting glycogen reserves and utilizing more fat.
I did some quick research on this issue after choosing to split my long run for the week. I chose to do this because I feared that, if I didn't, I'd overtax my body ahead of the Torrington Road Race.
I did my first ever double-day of running today, doing two legs, one in the AM and one in the PM, of 5.5 miles. I ran the first leg at a 10:30 pace and the second at slighly under a 10:00 pace. I felt much stronger during the evening leg; however, I started feeling the day's work at about 45 minutes in, particularly in my calf muscles. For a runner of my caliber, that's what 25.6 miles in 4 days will do to you.
I look forward to the race on Sunday and the break from doing 10+ miles in one day until next Saturday, August 18th, when I'll do between 13 and 14 miles.
I remembered this evening how lucky I am to be able to run.
I did some quick research on this issue after choosing to split my long run for the week. I chose to do this because I feared that, if I didn't, I'd overtax my body ahead of the Torrington Road Race.
I did my first ever double-day of running today, doing two legs, one in the AM and one in the PM, of 5.5 miles. I ran the first leg at a 10:30 pace and the second at slighly under a 10:00 pace. I felt much stronger during the evening leg; however, I started feeling the day's work at about 45 minutes in, particularly in my calf muscles. For a runner of my caliber, that's what 25.6 miles in 4 days will do to you.
I look forward to the race on Sunday and the break from doing 10+ miles in one day until next Saturday, August 18th, when I'll do between 13 and 14 miles.
I remembered this evening how lucky I am to be able to run.
Bike Tour and Long Run
My long run yesterday was kick ass. I felt strong throughout and felt I could have kept going. My right hip started to bother me though around mile 14-15. I think this might have something to do with the camber in the road. I tried to run on level areas as much as possible and it seemed to help. Another issue is my toenails. They are black and blue or blistered under the nail. I'm down to two normal looking nails on my right foot, and it's getting pretty ugly. I suppose some larger shoes might help. I think my right foot is a bit larger than the left. I had a bottle of Vitamin Water (courtesy of the Tour of the Litchfield Hills) at mile 9 and then a banana and some water at mile 14. After drinking the Vitamin Water I felt a bit sick, but that was probably because I drank it too fast. The banana and water didn't make me feel sick, but it didn't go down so easy. Both gave me a needed kick though.
The bike tour on Sunday was a nice ride. Incredibly nice weather and scenic roads. I ended up doing the 30 mile ride instead of the 50, and wished I had done the 50 when I finished. I hardly felt like I got my heart rate up, but I was probably better off since I did my long run the day after. The 30 mile ride crowd was small and slow and I was looking forward to riding with some other people, but did get to ride with some folks toward the end as one guy rode my tail the last 10 miles. He thanked me at the end for doing all the work.
The bike tour on Sunday was a nice ride. Incredibly nice weather and scenic roads. I ended up doing the 30 mile ride instead of the 50, and wished I had done the 50 when I finished. I hardly felt like I got my heart rate up, but I was probably better off since I did my long run the day after. The 30 mile ride crowd was small and slow and I was looking forward to riding with some other people, but did get to ride with some folks toward the end as one guy rode my tail the last 10 miles. He thanked me at the end for doing all the work.
8.05.2007
45th Ocean Beach / John & Jessie Kelley 11.6 Mile Road Race
I ran, not raced, this road race yesterday as a marathon training run. This was a great idea for five reasons, some more obvious than others:
1) there were water stations (some had sport's drinks) at every other mile marker;
2) there were other runners to run alongside;
3) the course was mapped out for me;
4) there were people, mostly runners, at various points along the course at the end of their driveways with water hoses hosing down the race's runners; and
5) it was free.
I felt great through about 5 miles and then my left foot started acting up. It cleared by mile 8 or 9. At mile 9 I nearly choked to death on water. It's not easy taking it down on the run. It was great practice for the marathon, however.
I finished hard, at or faster than marathon race pace.
Results
1) there were water stations (some had sport's drinks) at every other mile marker;
2) there were other runners to run alongside;
3) the course was mapped out for me;
4) there were people, mostly runners, at various points along the course at the end of their driveways with water hoses hosing down the race's runners; and
5) it was free.
I felt great through about 5 miles and then my left foot started acting up. It cleared by mile 8 or 9. At mile 9 I nearly choked to death on water. It's not easy taking it down on the run. It was great practice for the marathon, however.
I finished hard, at or faster than marathon race pace.
Results
8.02.2007
Marathon Morning
I did a marathon yesterday morning. Okay, so most of it was on a bike, but still, it felt like an accomplishment. According to mapmyrun.com (sorry, Dan, your "new favorite" route calculator was not all that user-friendly), my 89 minute cycle was 23.2 miles. I followed with a 3 mile trail run. There ya go, marathon in the morning.
Which brings me to today. I had scheduled a 5 miles tempo run, but as I was warming up, I decided that I just wasn't into a 5 mile tempo run today. I'm tired, my legs felt heavy, and I didn't feel like if I did the tempo it would be quality. I guess that can be expected after a triathlon Sunday, an interval workout on the track Tuesday and the workout I just described yesterday. The nice thing is, I'm finally at a point in my life when I can listen to my body when it tells me to stop. I ran on a team for nine years, and though you can tell the coach "I'm tired," you usually end up doing the workout anyway. Admittedly, this led to a couple injuries for me in college. It's hard to describe the internal battle that I went through this morning when deciding whether to continue my workout. Part of me said "you have to" because the workout was scheduled, it was "set in stone." But really, it's not set in stone. I think every athlete can do him or herself a favor by actually tuning into what the body is telling you. Rest when your body says "rest" and you will be able to go a lot farther in the long run because you won't be sidelined by injury.
Tell me it's okay I bailed on this workout!
Which brings me to today. I had scheduled a 5 miles tempo run, but as I was warming up, I decided that I just wasn't into a 5 mile tempo run today. I'm tired, my legs felt heavy, and I didn't feel like if I did the tempo it would be quality. I guess that can be expected after a triathlon Sunday, an interval workout on the track Tuesday and the workout I just described yesterday. The nice thing is, I'm finally at a point in my life when I can listen to my body when it tells me to stop. I ran on a team for nine years, and though you can tell the coach "I'm tired," you usually end up doing the workout anyway. Admittedly, this led to a couple injuries for me in college. It's hard to describe the internal battle that I went through this morning when deciding whether to continue my workout. Part of me said "you have to" because the workout was scheduled, it was "set in stone." But really, it's not set in stone. I think every athlete can do him or herself a favor by actually tuning into what the body is telling you. Rest when your body says "rest" and you will be able to go a lot farther in the long run because you won't be sidelined by injury.
Tell me it's okay I bailed on this workout!
8.01.2007
Racing and Marathon Training
I'd like to run the 5 Mile Torrington Road Race on Sunday, August 12th, but I don't know whether that's such a good idea given my marathon training in progress. The race falls on the last day of my 7th week of training. I'm scheduled to run 11 to 12 miles on Saturday and 3 to 4 on Sunday--the day of the race. I'm considering doing the 3 to 4 on Saturday, instead, and the race (I'd like to break 39 minutes) in addition to 6 or 7 easy miles on Sunday. Any thoughts? Thanks! Ryan
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