Running at the right time

The next part of my winter running thoughts has to do with what time do you want to run.

I am by inclination an afternoon/evening runner. I find it quite uncivilized to run early in the morning and I guess that is why I really do not get real enthusiastic about many of the races. For example, the Leadville 100 starts at 4:00 AM...most uncivilized. I will admit though that there is good reason for this in many cases such as avoiding the heat of the day or afternoon thunderstorms in the mountains.

However, in the winter...I want to enjoy the heat of the day. If you have a schedule that is flexible enough to be able to choose your running time, I would recommend noon runs. For the past 8 years I have been fortunate enough to be able to choose my running time and like today's run it is real nice to enjoy the sunshine and warm breezes on a January afternoon.

Early morning runs are good in the summer since this is generally the coolest part of the day but in the winter, it is also the coldest part of the day in most cases.

The most difficult part of morning and mid-day runs is you are limited on the time available. If you hit a good patch and want to go further, you may run up against time constraints in getting to or back to work.

It may make sense to do 2 workouts on some days to get more mileage with a nice run at noon and another one either morning or evening.

It's in the shoes..ouch

During my run Sunday, I became acutely aware of one of the problems of running trails. The Sante Fe trail is one of those hard packed trails built with crushed gravel and other small materials.

I found I was having a lot of problems with small rocks and sand in my shoes, more so that I normally encounter. I realized at this time that because the surface is damp due to snow melt and just wetter conditions, that these pebbles and sand cling to the shoes and get thrown off during foot turnover. This is more the case than in summer when it is dry and the sand does not cling to the shoes. Note that the picture is the ultimate test of the gaiters...although it is kind of hard to see them under all that mud. Picture is of Coleen giving them the test at the Psycho Wyco race in Kansas City. The other picture is what it looks like without the gaiters courtesy of myself.

It look like it is time to drag out the gaiters. Since there is not any snow of depth, I will be using my gaiters from Chrissy. These gaiters are nylon, thin, and light and mainly serve to keep stuff out of the shoes. For more serious snow conditions, I would use my OR gaiters.

Check out http://www.dirtygirlgaiters.com/ for a source of excellent gaiters for this kind of situation. These are especially good in the summer too as they do not cause heat buildup that you would get for heavier gaiters. Although I tend not to wear them that much in the summer, I will use them in races so I do not have to empty the shoes. For training runs...it give me an excuse to take a short break (hehe)

Running indoors

One of the options I mentioned in the previous blog entry was moving indoors for training in the winter.

This may makes sense if you live where is difficult to train outdoors. I would still recommend that you spend some of your training outdoors even if it is only when the weather cooperates. To get the most out of your indoor training, I think there are several strategies to try and adopt.

1. It is a good time to recover from a hard summer/fall training to racing season. Cutting back on the running makes sense to allow the body and mind to recover and rebuild. This is especially true of the mind since the mental effort needed to sustain a hard training routine is high but we tend not to notice it.

2. Adding some strength training can go a long way to regaining balance between muscle groups that have gotten out of wack. I think we tend to forget or forgo some of the alternate training when we are in the final phase of our race season or just end of summer for those who have been building on their training over the summer.

3. Adding some flexablility training such as yoga or palates might be a good thing to help relax the mind and stretch muscles that have tightened up.

4. Some running in necessary during this time since it can be a real chore to regain that running rhythm if you take of entirely from it over the winter. Indoor track and treadmill workouts, while boring can be the way to start working on the push to spring after a month or so of easier runs. What I strive to do is to take one day a week and start building a steady state running focus by taking a pace and running increasing distances at that pace. In keeping with the rebuilding mode, strive to run relaxed while doing this. This would mean that as you get into the run, relax...if you find yourself getting tense and can't relax, this may be the limit you want to go but over time you should be able to increase the distance. Once you have reached 4-5 miles at this pace relaxed, you might then pick up the pace 10 sec per mile or so and back off on the distance a couple miles and repeat the pattern.

5. It is very difficult to run hard and fast outside in the winter. The cold air can bother the lungs in many cases and the footing is not always good to allow a full stride. This is where the indoor running can help by letting you run faster and maintain a proper stride. Doing this at least 2 times per week will help you to regain your rhythm in the spring.

6. Other aerobic activities should be added into the mix at this time. Spinning is one such activity which under a good instructor can yield tremendous aerobic workouts. One caveat on this is to watch out for routines that put undue strain on joints and ligaments. Some routines have been known to cause problems but if an instructor is not up to date on the current thought, they may not know to forgo these routines.

7. Other aerobic workouts may also be good. I cannot in this case speak from experience since I have not done any of these. However, I would only caution someone to pay attention and if the workout seems to cause undue strain or stress, I would proceed with caution. I think many of the bad raps some of these get is not because the routines are necessarily bad but the instructor may not know the proper form.

...Bob
http://farrunner.com
have a good run

Thoughts on Winter

I remarked on my website about the fact that winter is well upon us. I think it useful to talk a bit about how this affects our running.

The thinks about running in the winter are first the shortened daylight available and second the weather. Unless you don't work or have a job that allows you time during the daylight hours, you have to contend with running in the dark.

There are several strategies that come to mind when I think of this.

1. Move indoors. The availability of a club with a decent indoor track or treadmills is one way to tackle this issue. The upside of this strategy is that you have light, warmth, and peer pressure.
The downside is you get bored going in circles or nowhere on the treadmill, and peer pressure can overwhelm common sense. I have been there and can say that one year where I had a good training partner and we trained on a small indoor track during the weekdays in the winter, I had my best marathon that March. The key was controlled training indoors and a good long run on the weekends.

2. Move to a better part of the day. This is good especially if you can adjust your hours or use your lunchtime for training. The upside here is daylight and warmer temps. While the downside is you may be limited on how long you can run because of having to get back to work. It is definately a plus to run midday when temperatures are likely to be the highest for the day. It seems like the same temperature when it is dark, feels colder (at least to me)

3. Train in the dark but move your training courses is another strategy. I have noticed that there are areas that are well lit by street lights that could be used for training after dark. The downside of this is that you will probably have to contend with vehicle traffic and pavement. The upside is that it will probably be plowed. This is a really tricky option. If you follow this strategy, you need to be aware of the dangers that are involved with mixing with traffic especially after dark. I will probably talk more about this in another session.

4. Train in the dark but stay on your favorite trails or move to better trails. Running single track trails in the dark can be done with proper equipment. Moving to a wider trail such as the SF Trail is a step up in trail conditions that can help. Again there are safety conditions that need to be considered here and again I will elaborate in another session

5. Stop running and cross train. This is an option that I never would consider for myself but if it makes sense, then consider it. I have used cross training during the winter to supplement my running and it has benefits. Spinning is a high intensity way to keep your aerobic levels up and provide a good workout. Climbing workout on the spin bike seem to help my hill running so I felt it did provide some positive benefits.

There are probably other ways to approach this and of course you can mix the types of workouts in a way that makes the most sense for your situation. I did this when I would do spinning especially when the weather was not good for any kind of outdoor work. At times, I even did an hour of spinning followed by an hour on the treadmill and some weight work for upper body strength.

More Rubber on the Road

It been a few runs since I bought my new pair of Asics 2140's. Since other options have not been that good, I decided to take a gamble at the 2140's since they were just released.

So far, I have mixed results. My first few runs were OK. I noticed less problems that I had with the 2130's. Since my feet are not recovered yet, I am not sure about the impact effect. I think I will need to rest the feet a few days before deciding if there are still problems.

I ran them in a 1/2 marathon race Saturday and the result were pretty positive. I still had soreness from impact but I did push them quite hard. I was about 45 sec per mile faster than I had run it 2 years ago and a faster avg pace that most of my runs in this distance range this year so I know I put a lot of stress on shoes. I did not have some of the aches and pains of the previous models in other areas like the hips and the top of the arch.

More testing needed...but looking positive so far

Where the rubber meets the road

Usually I look forward to winter running. This year, I seem to be a little less enthusiastic that usual. I think after the 1/2 marathon next week, I will need to back off a bit. I think this has a lot to do with having issues with shoes.

For many years, I have been fortunate to be able to depend on the Asics GT line to provide a fairly stable progression of shoes. The last 2 models tho have not provided the same level of performance for me as they have in the past. That coupled with getting a bit older, has made running a little more of a chore than in the past.

I have to wonder why the shoe companies bring out new models every year. I know that they say there are improvements and I don't have a problem with that. However, when the improvements change the characteristics of the shoe, I think that they are doing a disservice to those of us who depend on a shoe that does not vary much in its running characteristics from year to year. Since I go through 2-3 pairs a year as do many runners I know, it is not like they need to get us to throw away to old and buy new just for the sake of a new model.

I generally point to shoes when friends have compaints about feet, knees or hips as the first place to look for the problem. I have many times given this advice but I forgot to think about it myself since I was so use to the GT line being dependable. When I finally realized that I was probably having a shoe issue, I hit myself in the head for not heading my own advice.

To test my hypothesis that the shoe was the problem, I took out an old pair of Asics from the '80 era. They were brand new, still in the box. When I ran in them, I was struck at how different they felt when compared to the newer Asics. The pair I had was the Epirus, the last of the non-gel Asics before they move to the GT series and gel. I felt like I was running on a cloud, the shoes were light and responsive. I remember now how I would refer to them as my "magic" shoes (eat you hat..err heart out, john kerry) since putting them on in the later stages of a 50 or 100 mile race seemed to help to improve my pace by 30 sec or more per mile.

Based on this, I compared the GT 2130 with the Epirus and was amazed at how wide the forefoot of the shoes had become. I guess over time, in the interest of stability, the base of the shoe has widened. This lead me to trying a "performance" training shoe and these felt similar in that they were more responsive and lighter however, they did not seem to last as long 300 miles vs 500 miles.

So what am I trying to say here? First, look to your shoes if you start having problems. It may be that they have finally worn out. If you just got them, maybe they are not the right ones...
Second, stick with one that works for you. If you know that a model you like is being changes or discontinued, buy a couple extra pairs to help while trying the new models. Mixing the old and new could help you determine if the new performs the same way without a major breakdown. (I bought about 10 pairs of the Epirus in those days). Lastly, don't get caught up in the hype about a new shoe or what someone else likes ... your foot may be different. I did notice while researching changes to the GT line, that a lot of runners who had used the GT series for a long time were complaining about the 2120 and 2130 models but I did not just take their word for it.

Wild West Relay Race Report

This weekend (Friday and Saturday) I participated in the Wild West Relay (http://www.wildwestrelay.com). A new experience in running for me.

I have always considered running pretty much an individual thing and never really considered running in something like a relay. Maybe I even look down a bit on such thinks...after all how hard is it to run 5 miles every 12 hours....did I ever have an awakening. It was an experience.

I am totally blown away by the team...what a great group of people. Take 12 people from half a dozen states, many who did not know each other and watch with awe as everyone performed above expectation. I am truly proud of them.

The relay is interesting...each leg is anywhere from 3-8 miles or so and that is probably dictated by the availability of a place along the way to allow the team vehicles to park and prepare for the next leg. Teams had 1 or 2 vehicles per team depending on the number of runners in the team. We had 2 vans / 6 per van. One van would track to each exchange point as each of its runners ran their leg and the other van would go ahead to the point that they would be starting from and take the opportunity to catch some rest or sleep (if possible).

The course start in Ft Collins and make its way up to Laramie then back into Colorado to Steamboat Springs. Just shy of 200 miles in all. We were running on highways, something I have not done is a long time. I switched to running trails 10 years ago and rarely venture onto the streets anymore. My legs will attest to this quite loudly.

Our first set of legs was the hardest to face. It was a mostly uphill leg and the temperatures were hovering around 100 degrees. It hurt and everyone really showed their meddle on this leg. The uphill is bad enough but add the temperature to the equation and any sane runner would have gone home..but then we are runners and sane runner is an oxymoron. That being said it was "onward and upward".

The second set if legs treated us a little better. It was around midnight so the temperature was a balmy 40 degrees. It sure felt good after the 1st leg, I would have even been happy with snow but lets get too crazy.

The 3rd and last set of legs which took us into Steamboat and the finish was a mix of uphill early on and downhill. Temperatures were less of a factor but still running in the low to mid 80's and maybe a bit warmer that that for the last leg. The worst climb was in this set of leg but our flatland trooper Coleen gave it a tremendous effort. Having a lot of downhill helped here since we were all pretty tired and running on minimal sleep but downhill also beat you up as payment for leasing a little gravity to help you.

For myself, I must apologize to my team for taking this lightly in the time leading up to the start but that view changed about 10 seconds into the lst leg I ran and was driven home painfully in the last leg. I hope I performed to their expectations. I know I gave it all I could. I will be sore and tired for a few days.

Special thanks to Kelly for organizing this and our volunteers (volunteers are the unsung heros of running) and thanks to everyone for a fun (runner has strange sense of fun!) time. I could almost be convinced to do this again but I will be stopping by the local bionic shop to be fitted for some bionic legs first.

I will post any pictures that I receive on my website at www.farrunner.com so send away...

Bob
http://www.farrunner.com