Wear Reflective Gear when you Run in the Dark

ORN:  7 miles total, 5 x 1 mile intervals, average 8:15/mile

 

Another gorgeous fall Saturday on which to run.  Sunshine, 53 degrees, no wind...I'll need to remember this during February. 

 

The schedule called for mile repeats, a workout I am coming to enjoy.  Times were solid; 8:16, 8:12, 8:21, 8:16 and 8:08.  Technique felt smooth. 

 

But that's not what I wanted to write about.

 

I left work on Thursday a bit after 6:00pm.  The sun goes down just a little after 5pm these days, so it was fully dark by the time I was driving home.  My favorite running trail crosses the street along the way.  As I drove, my mind still on a couple of vexing issues from the work day, I suddently saw a runner, in the street, crossing right in front of me.  I hit the brakes and nothing happened.  But it was way too close; I was truly rattled.

 

Why didn't I see the runner?  It was dark.  And when I finally saw the runner, all I saw was dark shorts, dark shirt and a pony tail.  She was virtually invisible.  Nothing to reflect my headlights. 

 

Don't do this.  Be responsible for your own safety.  During the long winter, many of us do most of our running during dark hours before or after work.  Here's some simple ways to be reflective. 

• Wear a reflective belt. ( more choices )The simplest of solutions...this is why the Army uses it.
• Get a reflective vest.  Even more visible
• Best style:  Brooks' Night Lite windbreakers, for men; for women
• Cheapest option?  Buy some reflective tape and slap it on.
• Use a small blinky light to even add more visibility.

Pass this on to other runners or your local running clubs. 

 

Please be safe as you persevere. 

Running Multiple Marathon makes Wall Street Journal Front Page

ORN:  5.1 miles, R5/W1, 10:48/mile

 

Folks, we made it.

 

No less a light than the Wall Street Journal published this article this morning, on Page One, no less describing folks who run not one, not two but multiple marathons each year. 

 

It's well done.  I was sorry Marathon Maniacs didn't get a mention but Marathon Guide,  the 50 State Club and Bob Dolphin both made the cut. 

 

So, maybe we're not crazy after all.

 

Persevere.

Can I put this day in a Bottle?

ORN:  18.4 miles, 3:21:15, R2/W1, 10:57/mile

 

It's a beautiful thing when a perfect fall day lands on the Saturday when you have a long run scheduled.  And oh how rare for such a thing to happen in Indiana. 

 

Yet today was just such a day.  In addition to the sunny, 58F weather, there was a Big Ten football game.  The underachieving Michigan State Spartans were in town to play our frustratingly inconsistent Purdue Boilermakers.  With a noon kickoff, activity was rolling early.  During the first five miles of the run, the south wind carried the Purdue Band's pregame show to my Indian Trail loop, enlivening the run.  There is a special sound to a college marching band.  Interestingly, since we don't have a music school at Purdue, all the band members are Biology or Communication majors.  What we lack in musical finesse we make up in volume. 

 

Grinding the run closer to campus got me in the flow with a lot of folks walking to the game.  Looping around the crowds tailgating, the smells made me realize why so many "fans" don't even bother with the football game.  By the time I got home, the Boilers were already ahead 10-7.  Alas, they could not hang on and lost the game.

 

Yet the run was good.  I had decided earlier in the week to seriously pursue entering the 50K trail race on December 19.  After my knee issues at Portland, I had thought about scrapping it.  Yet several of you urged me to not give up on it yet.  After the successful half marathon last week, I sat down, reworked my schedule and realized I needed a long run this weekend to have a shot at 50K.  So I threw in the 18 miler, and went out at a simple 2/1.  It was fun.  Just knocked off the miles...nothing hurt, nothing twinged, it was just enjoyable.  I'll do a 22 miler sometime over the Thanksgiving weekend and, if that goes well, it's game on for my first bona fide ultra.

 

Persevere.  

Race Report: Indianapolis Monumental Half-Marathon

ORN:  13.1 miles, 2:06:51

 

Quick Summary:

 

The race turned out to be an enjoyable 9 mile tempo run, followed by an easy 4 mile training jog.  As this was the first race I've ever run not feeling 100%, I was pleased.  The social interactions of the day carried the event.

 

The Gory Details:

 

When I got home from work on Friday, my wife asked me "So are you really going to run that race tomorrow?"  Like a stubborn runner (or maybe one who had already paid the entry fee and was determined to get his money's worth), I said "Sure.  What else would I do?"  I'm fortunate...she loves me anyway.

 

Last week was a long one, as I contracted what was eventually identified as a dandy upper respiratory infection.  After hoping to deny it all week, I relented and went to the doctor on Thursday. He told me it was a good thing I came in, as it could have morphed into walking pneumonia in a few more days.  (I resisted the urge to ask him if I could make it "running pneumonia") Some generic antibiotics and industrial strength cough syrup turned the direction of the fight on Thursday and Friday.  Yet, I knew I was not 100% for running on Saturday. But, hey, it was going to be a nice day, so I still ran. 

 

Race day came and Social Event #1 took shape.  Former work colleague and running pal Chris S. emailed me on Friday, asking if he could have a ride to the race.  We met up and had a marvelous conversation all the way to downtown Indy.  It was terrific to catch up and discuss items of substance all the way.  Chris had his best HM ever, finishing strong at 2:07:47. 

 

We scored a great parking place a half block from the start line by 6:30am and I headed for Social Event #2.  Mike is a blog reader and was in town to run the marathon.  He and I have emailed quite a bit about applying Galloway's methods.  I used the half mile to his hotel as a nice warm up and we had a terrific chat for about 20 minutes.  It was fun to meet up.  He had a solid run, finishing in 4:49:34. 

 

Back to our car (where my wallet was well secured) and I had to decide Which Shirt Or Combination Of Shirts To Wear For This Race.  It's getting ridiculous...I packed six shirts for this race...and changed my mind twice more on race morning.  Ended up choosing a single LS tech shirt from Rocket City.  The weather was amazingly warm for early November in Indiana...the high for the day ended up being 70.  The choice was still wrong...I should have gone short sleeved. Boy, do I over think this subject, though. 

 

The sound system for the starting grid was very good and I laughed out loud when one of the pre-race songs was "Billy Jean".  I had no illusions of running at a pace of 8:20, but there it was.  Just before the start, I saw ahead of me in the crush of the grid two work colleagues.  Jeremy was running his second ever HM, shooting for a sub 2.  He made it, at 1:56:12.  Chris F. was doing his first ever marathon.  An accomplished triathlete, he was using this to push the distance envelope of his running. 

 

The race started on time and 5,700 of us shuffled off.  Somewhere in the first mile, Chris F appeared from behind me and we decided to run together.  Social Event #3 was underway.

 

It was huge fun to run and converse with Chris from that point to the split up at mile 8.  While we regularly collaborate projects at work, being on the streets, sweating and taking on a big challenge allows us to go wider than mere work.  It was a terrific way to run.  We talked and talked and enjoyed it a lot.  The mile splits were consistent:  9:13, 9:15, 9:14, 9:01, 8:59, 8:51 over the first six.  Both of us were feeling somewhat for the right pace.  With my illness, I had no idea what to shoot for...a very unusual thing for me.  I decided, as Chris and I settled into a comfortable groove, to just see if I could hit 2 hours.  He was not sure just what to shoot for in the full.  I encouraged him to run slower than what he felt he could...and since he often trains at a sub 8/mile pace, 9s seemed reasonable. 

 

Eventually, the half marathon course separated. I was sorry to not be going with the marathoners but that's how it was today.  I wished Chris well and wondered how he would hold up.  I needn't have been concerned.  In his first ever marathon, he finished at 3:56:27.  Awesome.  I can't wait for the full report on Monday. 

 

After all the conversation, the rest of the race was rather quiet for me.  Somewhere after mile 9, I began to sense the lungs and legs were not pleased with the tempo I was holding.  Since I didn't have a plan and wasn't really too uptight about the race, I decided to listen to these twinges and set my watch to a 3/1 run/walk for the rest of the way.  The splits then jumped to the low 11s.  And that was OK.  The ego suffered a bit as I had so many people pass me the last four miles.  But, it wasn't a big deal. 

 

The finish of the race was well laid out...through downtown Indy, around the State Capital building, finishing at a new government center.  The final time was 2:06:51.  Not all that great, but it was "the best race conditions allowed."  Conditions today were governed by the illness all week.  Just the way it goes. 

 

It was a good day.  I truly enjoyed the time with Chris, Mike and Chris.  I'm trilled how that worked out.  Any race day is a good day...it is a gift to simply be able to get out and run. 

 

Persevere.

Running in Wheaton

ORN:  7 miles total; 5 x 1 mile intervals, average 8:28

 

We are in Wheaton, Illinois visiting youngest son Matt during Parent's Weekend at Wheaton College, where his is now (amazingly) a junior.  Fascinating to watch him grow, spreading wings, flying.  We're so thankful for our three sons...words fail me to even express it. 

 

So I won't try; instead I'll talk about running.

 

In between events with Matt, I managed to get in today's required workout, 5 x 1 mile intervals.  I ran the Great Western Trail, part of the DuPage County Trails in the suburbs west of Chicago, which had an entry spot about 200m from our hotel.  It is an extensive rail-to-trail system...looking at the map, I think you could easily do a 30 mile run and not see the same thing twice.  Packed gravel made the surface wonderful on the legs.  Darrell once ran these trails while in Chicago on business.  This has to be a huge plus for any runner living west of Chicago. 

 

Despite a 20mph west wind and 41F temperatures, it was most enjoyable.  Individual splits were nice and even:  8:29, 8:27, 8:30, 8:26, 8:26.  The run was smooth and not maximum effort; I felt good all the way. 

 

And one weird thing.  I've noticed this before but only figured it out today during the last interval.  When I run at an 8:20 to 8:30 pace, the cadence of my foot strike is precisely the same as the core beat of Michael Jackson's song "Billy Jean".  Seriously.  And so I end up with that song stuck in my head during intervals. When I put this together, I felt like I should run with my left glove on and my right glove off.  Oh my.

 

My biggest tip of the hat today goes to long-time blogging buddy Waddler who does much of her training on this same trail system.  I thought of her a lot during the run, as next Saturday she goes for her first full Ironman distance at the Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon.  She has worked oh so very hard for this, with not a few obstacles to overcome.  She has truly persevered, in the greatest sense of that word.  My prayers are with you and your whole family this week, pal.  Keep moving forward!!

 

Persevere. 

 

 

 

 

Split Time Clarification and updated Plans

ORN:  4 miles, R4/W1

 

Blogging buddies Darrell and David joined in the analysis on my last post, wondering how on earth I tied with Jeff Galloway at the Portland Marathon when my splits were better than his for 18 miles. 

 

Boy, I love number crunching. 

 

There was no typo...here's how it works.

 

The reason is that those paces were cumulative paces to that point in the race.  They were not paces between the mile markers.  Thus, when I slowed from a 10:30 to a 10:40 pace between mile markers 17.5 and 20.0, the actual splits included miles at 12:05 and 12:15.  Ouch.  Conversely, when Jeff pushed his cumulative pace from 11:11 at mile 21.1 to 11 flat at the end, meant he was probably doing 9:30-ish over those last miles. 

I also wondered; with Jeff doing a 1/1, just how fast did he actually run during his one minute of running? Loading info from his 21.1 mile split into my run/walk pace calculating spreadsheet, he held a 8:53 pace in each run segment. That sure seems doable. Makes me very curious to see just how this might work for me.

 

And, while I'm at it, the cube root of the arc tangent of the number of shopping days 'til Christmas is 0.356. 

 

Thanks to many of you for your responses to my post on recurring knee pain.  With your input, and my own consideration and reflection, the pain seems to simply be a case of overuse.  I had only four weeks between the HOA Marathon and the Portland Marathon...that probably triggered the knee pain on that race day.  Attempting 20+ miles then only two weeks after PDX was more of the same.  Duh.  This informs my planning for future races, eh??  I've done some hard running but nothing long in the past two weeks and it feels fine...the legs are fully back. 

 

The realization also altered, nicely, my immediate racing plans.

 

I had planned earlier in the fall to run the Monumental Marathon in Indy on November 7.  However, while gimping down the long hill past the Adidas offices at mile 23 of Portland, I decided I needed to scrap that race.  But, alas, a light came on in my brain last week; that event in Indy also has a half marathon!  So, I've signed up to do 13.1 that morning.  My failed 20 miler turns out to be a perfect "last long run" for a HM.  Game on.  Just a little shorter game now. 

 

And the 50K trail race on Dec 19?  No decision yet. 

 

Thanks a ton for all your input, folks, I truly appreciate it and learn from all of you. 

 

Go Phillies.

 

Persevere. 

Meet up with Jeff Galloway in Portland

ORN: 5K time trial @ 8:28 pace

Moments after crossing the finish line at the Portland Marathon two weeks ago, I received my medal from a helpful volunteer and turned to look at the finish area, pondering the moment. I saw a runner who finished just after me, wearing a "Galloway Running" shirt. I greeted her, mentioning I used Galloway's methods too.

"Well," she said, "Jeff is right there," motioning to a man just a few feet away talking to someone.

The lady was none other than Barbara Galloway, Jeff's wife. And in short order, less than a minute after we both completed a marathon, I was talking with Jeff Galloway.

I've written extensively on this blog about my application of Jeff's run/walk methods over the past three years. I was surprised and thrilled to be able to tell Jeff himself of my appreciation for what he has done to help me and so many others. In fact, as I told him, it was an ITB injury I suffered at Portland 2006 that triggered my first use of his plans in early 2007.


Jeff was very gracious to chat with me for several minutes in the amply supplied food area of the marathon (thanks for the white grapes and string cheese, marathon organizers!). We moved beyond my own experience, as I asked Jeff how his business was doing and how his seminars went at the Expo the day before. In one way, this mere conversation is testament to his training techniques; within 2 minutes of completing a 26.2 mile run, we were sane, breathing normally, speaking of broader issues...who would imagine that??

Jeff had some other folks walk up to greet him, so I got a photo with him, asked him to take the photo above of me with Barbara and I thanked him again. It was great to talk with someone who has done so much for running.

Later, I got thinking about what had happened. If Jeff finished the race just after I did, we must have run about the same total time. What run/walk plan did Jeff himself use? And what could I learn from this????

When I got home I pulled up the race splits for me and for Jeff. Sparing you the extra numbers, here is the cumulative race pace at each timing mat along the way for the two of us. (Interestingly, Barbara's splits were identical to Jeff's...they were together the entire race).

Distance... Joe's Pace ...Jeff's Pace
6.2 miles... 10:26 ... 10:59
8.9 ..........10:25 ... 11:04
13.1..........10:24 ... 11:04
17.5..........10:30 ... 11:05
20.0.........10:40 ... 11:10
21.1..........10:48 ... 11:11
26.2..........11:02 ... 11:00
Time ......4:48:55 .... 4:48:16

As described in my race report, my run went well through mile 18, when right knee issues slowed me down, evident in my paces. Jeff, on the other hand ran a very steady pace, and then accelerated over the last 5 miles. I ran a 3/1 run/walk. What did Jeff run? Same course, same day, virtually the same time...what was his running strategy? Could I learn it? Wouldn't it be interesting to compare??

So I emailed Jeff and simply asked him! The email found its way to him and he graciously answered my question. He told me he wanted to run a negative split so ran a 1/1 run/walk, through mile 23. Yes. He and Barbara ran one minute and
walked one minute. For 23 miles. From that point, they ran continuously the rest of the way, getting the negative split Jeff wanted. Arm in arm at the finish line.

Seriously.

And, that's when I saw both of them...calm, happy, conversant. Romantic even, in a running sort of way.

What to make of this?? Why do I subject my readers to such arcane analysis?? In his books, Jeff repeatedly makes the point that seemingly severely slow run/walk ratios work wonderfully well for recreational runners, allowing folks to lower the risk of injury and keep a steady pace for long distances. Jeff obviously follows his own advice, enjoys traveling with and running with his lovely wife and is happy to help others do the same.

His advice has been a huge help to me for three years now. He "walks the walk" (pardon the pun) and has been very gracious to so many, many runners. It's worth noting, even to this sort of detail.

Persevere. At any pace.