It's a Miracle!

Ever since I started this running thing I've been thinking that if I could just find the right way to stride that I would suddenly knock a minute or more off my minute per mile pace.

Time has moved on and I have mostly seen improvements in how far I can run and how long I can hold my 10K pace in longer runs.

This is an improvement.  It used to be that I had two paces, running and walking.  I read all these articles about tempo paces, interval paces, 5k pace, 10 k pace, marathon pace, and I had to laugh because I had only two paces.  Then I evolved as a runner to have a 9:16 minute/mile 5k pace, 10:16 minute/mile 10k pace and a 11:16 minute/ mile half marathon pace.

Then one day I ran 13.5 miles with a 10:12 pace.  That's significant improvement.  However, I managed it with an unsteady interval type racing, where I would speed up into the 9+ minute/mile range and then slow down to 12+ minute/mile range.  For 2 of those miles I managed to average a high 9 minute/mile pace.

I came to accept that improvement would be slow and measured in a few seconds, not in sudden major gains in pace.  Nevertheless I continued to experiment with strides.

I found two stride exercises both online and in my new books. The first are called butt kicks and emphasize the "kick" of running when the leg pushes back.  The second is simply skipping with an emphasis on getting the knee higher.  You do them for about a 100 yards, trying not to feel stupid (because a 50 year old male can't help but look stupid doing them).  Then you run immediately after for the same distance to try and lock it into your stride.  Of the two, kicking back has given me the most gains in my stride.  Focusing on the kick back in the run has put my pace into the 8-9 minute range with the least amount of effort.  Increasing foot strikes per minute, stride length, and bringing knees higher have all felt like more effort in terms of endurance.  However, kicking back puts a lot of strain on certain leg muscles and I have not been able to maintain it.

So then Friday comes along.  Since I had made Thursday a rest day, my legs felt really strong.  It's funny because all day Thursday my legs kept cramping up and hurting.  Maybe they missed running?  Friday is my 2 hour run day.  I decided Wednesday would be my 90 minute run day and I would run intervals on Wednesday.  Wednesday intervals both last week and this week went really well.  Maybe I would finally shave a few seconds off of my pace?

I decided Friday would be a Tempo day, and just for yucks I would try to hold a 10 minute/mile pace. Trying this the previous week was epic fail due to the gastroenteritis.  I was lucky to hold a sub 11 minute pace.

The first three miles of this run I couldn't,get my average pace below 10, and then I tried the kicking back.  For the rest of my run I stayed under, not at, but under a 10:00 minute/mile pace.  I averaged a 9:40 moving pace, a full 32 seconds off of my previous pace record for this distance.  One of those miles was 9:05 (I actually thought I might finally break 9 on that mile), better then any mile run I had to date.  I covered 12.75 miles in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 15 seconds, firmly putting a sub 2 hour 10 minute half marathon within reach.

Paced stayed relatively steady, not interval like:

Most of improved pace came from increased stride length, not so much from foot strikes per minute.

Finally, all of the intervals, long runs, weekly miles have allowed me to break a plateau.  I feel like further improvements are within reach, including breaking a 9 minute mile, which was a 5 year goal. Perhaps I can achieve this sooner?  It's one of the things I love about running.  I can never be sure what the next day will bring, or the limits to my improvement.  Will I stop at 9 minute miles? 8 minute? Dare I wish for 7 minute miles?  Friday was supposed to be just another tempo run, but it became something extraordinary, it felt almost miraculous.  And later I found out my son got accepted to a 4 year college - Woot!

A Three Hour Tour

A week of running: October 13th through October 19th.

Monday
Rest day, no running just upper body workout.

Tuesday
In the morning I went to the gym and worked on leg muscles, focusing on exercises that specifically worked on running strength.  I bought a new book:

It's pretty cool, with lots of good workouts and a real effort at trying to explain why they work along with a mixture of mostly good and some bad science.  Its training programs focus on time running, not distance, and of course I'm all about the time now.

I also picked up this book:

No I'm not planning on running a marathon.  It had the word "Renegade" in the pre-title.  I'm  sucker for that kind of pitch.  Their focus is distance in their training, but I forgive them because the longest distance that they ask you to run is 16 miles which I could do in a little less than 3 hours at a 11 minute/mile pace.  I think I could hold that pace for three hours, I think.  This book also has realistic guide lines for pace, even for somebody as slow as me.

In the evening I ran for one hour on the treadmill at the gym while watching the Avengers on my phone.  I'm tired of music.  I'm tired of audible books.  I downloaded the Netflix app onto my phone.  I didn't want to watch anything too intense (the gym is public).  I had my Yurbuds and bluetooth device.  The guy on the treadmill next too me even watched, no sound for him - weird.

My son cooked dinner and I was late getting home.  He had to go to class but was kind enough to leave some food out for me.  I felt bad because Tuesdays and Thursdays are his dinner nights.  Those are the nights he is usually around to chat with.  I decided to make Tuesday night a fend-for-ourselves night and Thursday my rest day, in the future, so that I would for sure be around to hang out with my son.

Wednesday
I ran twice.  In the morning I ran an interval run successfully outside.  I had to approximate distance because I only allow my Garmin watch to show me time and pace.  Upon returning home I found I had run half mile (~800 meter) intervals with half mile recoveries for about 90 minutes.

Five of them with a little Progression run at the end.  They look fairly consistent too, which is good for me.  Interval pace averaged in the 8 minute/mile range which is really good for me. In the evening I did another 1 hour treadmill while watching the Avengers.  I had to race home from work to get this run in and then dash off to meet my wife at an "event" which included dinner and speeches.  Hanging out with my wife was the best part.

Thursday
I ran 1 hour in the morning skipping my usual strength building so that I would be home in the evening to visit with my son.  Next week it will be a rest day.  My son made scones and they were very good.

It's a good thing I went running in the morning, because that afternoon and evening (before scones) I had a pretty serious case of gastroenteritis.  Fortunately it wasn't so bad that I had to call in sick at work.

Friday
Still feeling the effects of my upset intestinal tract I didn't go for my morning 2 hour run.  This made me sad because even though I'm not running for distance, my Garmin told me I was on track for a 60 mile week if I could stick with the training plan of two runs on Friday.

I ran for two hours when I got home from work, but was not able to squeeze in the second one hour run.  I thought maybe I could manage that Saturday and get back on track.  My Friday afternoon run was supposed to be a tempo run at goal pace, but my beleaguered intestine was having none of that.  I was fortunate to run the time without interruption at the porta potty.

Saturday
I did a full body workout at the gym with an emphasis on strength training (weight lifting).  While I was lifting a woman came over and asked how many hours did I run on Sunday?  I see lots of people on my long Sunday morning runs, but didn't recall seeing her.  Nevertheless, I told her it depended on which week it was, but typically 2-3 hours.  In truth I had only managed one 3 hour run and that was mostly recovery pace with walking breaks.  I think I managed 12.8 miles.

After weight lifting I went up to the dreaded treadmill and knocked out an hour run time.  I never did manage that second run.

Sunday - The Three Hour Tour
For this, my second three hour run I had a mission.  I wanted to maintain a minimum of an 11 minute/mile pace.  If I could do this I could manage 16 miles, the most that the Hanson Marathon method called for.  Three hours is really the recognized time limit for any physiological gains in running.  I may have read one article that said 3.5 hours, but another said 2.5 hours.  Three hours seemed like a good compromise.

I took my water belt and 3 gels, including 1 Roctane to serve as my opening carb salvo.  I preloaded with toast and lardo followed by a banana shake.  I had my tunes set on my Fleetwood Mac Pandora channel.

I went through all of my water and had to stop to refill both.  I almost finished off the refills also.  I didn't bonk, or hit the wall, but my hips were definitely feeling like cramping as I came in the final mile.  I even manage to sprint the last 200 yards.  My average pace was 10:35 minute/mile and I ran 17.22 miles.

I still don't want to run a marathon.  I probably could with a little more training, maybe managing a sub-5hour effort, but nah.  I definitely feel prepared for the half-marathon.

Culinary

 Bottomless Pit from the night before, a blend of chocolate and coffee in a beer tipping the scales at 12% abv.  Served chilled, decanted and using a small sipping wine glass.  It was divine.

 Some cured salmon.  You can see the cure I used in the pan above.  It took the moisture right out of that salmon.  I removed the skin on this attempt.  I like how it allows for an even cure all around.

I didn't have bagels.  But I had whole grain sesame seed bread, toasted, with a veneer of sour cream and thin slices of the cured salmon.  My new favorite pre-running breakfast.

Rides Versus Ghosts

Running

So I've been running in both the Rides and the Ghosts using the Currexsoles and I've come to a conclusion.  I like the Ghosts better.  I now wear the Rides (shoes with green) to work.  Overall the Rides feel too cushy for running and give too much room in the toe box while rubbing up against my right little toe when running.  I don't really notice on runs less than an hour, but most of my runs these days are an hour or more

I think I like them better than the Cumulus shoes.

I set a new PR for my half marathon.

Using the 10:12 average, I ran the half marathon distance in 2 hours 13 minutes and 36 seconds, which puts me about 4 minutes better than my previous time.  It's unofficial, but since I hadn't run this distance for awhile, I wanted to give it a go one more time before Monterey.  Total miles for the week, counting elliptical 57, 52 without elliptical.

I'm going to try a 3 hour run at 11 minute pace this Sunday to see if I can hit 16 miles for a new long run personal distance record.

Culinary

My wife made some great beans using the Berkshire pork.  She also took the carcass of the smoked turkey and made a fantastic turkey soup.  I myself haven't really done much other than cook steaks.

I'm getting low on running energy gels, so I ordered some GU energy gels.  So far I like them better than the Cliff shots I had been using.  Toast with lardo is still my staple before long run food.  I also like making a small banana shake to chase it down with.

Running for time and smoking turkey

Running

I wasn't sure what to call this post.  I used to run for miles.  I was striving to maintain 50+ miles a week based on the notion of more running equals faster running.  I got impatient, strained something in my right leg and had to rethink.

I decided rather than run for miles I would run for time.  I would try to keep my heart rate under 130 beats per minute (bpm), forget about distance, and focus on time running.  I thought my ultimate goal would be 90 minutes on Wednesday, 2 hours on Friday, 2.5 hours on Saturday, and 3 hours on Sunday.  I'm not sure I can get the Saturday run in there with two long runs on either side of it, so for now Saturday will be a fun run.

How did my recovery running go this week?

Dates	M	Tu	W	Th	F	Sa	Su	Total
9/29-10/5	0	2.5	4	2.5	6.35	5.35	9.22	29.92

These miles mean nothing now.  I actually ran on the treadmill on Tuesday for 30 minutes, Wednesday for 1 hour, and didn't run at all on Thursday.  I ran for 1 hour on Friday.  I did elliptical on Saturday for 1 hour and ran for 3 hours and 5 minutes on Sunday!  I worked on keeping my heart rate at 130 bpm, not always successfully, but for the majority of these work outs.  The right leg feels strong and I will stick with this timing-heart-rate plan until after the Monterey Marathon.

Culinary

I smoked a turkey!  It was hard fitting the papers around it...

The technique I used was pretty much the same detailed in Running off the pork.  Well, I didn't add any wood chips to minimize smoke.  It cooked in less time also, only 8 hours or so.

I cured the turkey in a 1.5% salt rub with 0.75% raw sugar, a little Oregano, Garlic powder, California chili powder, fresh Rosemary, and fresh Sage.  It was in the cure for 5 days, and the turkey turned each day.  I rinsed the turkey well before cooking.  I caught all of the drippings and made a gravy.  The gravy went over rice.  I cooked some green beans with garlic, basil and olive oil for the veggies.

My son thought it was too salty, but I thought it came out great!  Sorry, no pictures.

Injurious

Running

Somewhere in the last couple of weeks I convinced myself that since I run soooo slow that I can run everyday as fast as I can.  I decided I didn't need "easy runs," that every day could be a tempo, or interval run.

This philosophy manifested it self at the end of a Wednesday recovery run last week.  I was crossing the street when I saw a truck barreling down on me and I picked up the pace.  I looked at my watch as I continued this effort down a sidewalk and saw that I had broken into a 6 minute 40 second pace.

It didn't last.  Soon I was slowing down, huffing and puffing back into recovery speed of 11 minute miles.  Still, determined to repeat this, I pushed myself again and again for the rest of the run.  The next day, only having time for a short run, I went flat out through my 5k route from home convinced I could finally crack my 30 minute barrier for 5 kilometers.  That didn't happen as it took me 30 minutes and 30 seconds to complete the run.

That was two days in a row of hard running.  On Friday I laid all out again on a 10 mile run.  Twice I broke into the 6 minute range with a best of 6 minute 29 second, ever so briefly.  I thought I might be on track to break 100 minutes for 10 miles which would be great for transforming my half-marathon time.  At the end of this run, within a couple hundred feet of my house, something in my right leg gave out.  The pain was in my lateral knee and I couldn't keep running.  I got home in 102 minutes and 43 seconds.

For the next week I tried to limit myself to recovery runs.  I was still able to run, but I foolishly pushed myself on my 9 mile runs on Wednesday and Friday.  Yesterday at mile 4, doing only recovery running, my knee gave out again. 

I'm going to take a couple days off from running.  I can't remember the last time I took any days off from running.  I hate not running, almost as much as I hate treadmill running.  Here is my plan for the next three weeks.

Dates	M	Tu	W	Th	F	Sa	Su	Total
9/29-10/5	0	2.5	4	2.5	6.35	5.35	9.22	29.92
10/6-10/12	3.1	5	6.3	5	9.2	4	13.7	46.3
10/13-10/19	4	5.9	9.2	5.9	9.2	5.3	13.7	53.2

I'm hoping my knee will not cause problems for me.  I'll stop any of these runs if I feel the slightest twinge.  It's not actually my knee.  The pain shoots up the side of my leg all the way to the gluteal region.  It doesn't really hurt to walk on it.  I think it may be the iliotibial tract, which suggests an issue with the Tensor Fascia.

I signed up for the Monterey half-marathon, so I am really hoping to get back to running my regular Sunday long runs.  I will be grateful to just run and complete the race.

Culinary

I recently decided my pizzas were tasting too smoky.  So in the latest effort I only used lump charcoal, no almond wood. 

The sauce was a mixture of our garden tomatoes puree from the freezer and a can of tomato paste  since the puree was too watery, and I started too late to cook it down to proper thickness.  For seasoning I added a 1/4 teaspoon of Turkish Oregano and French Thyme, both from Penzey's.

For the dough I used the following recipe:

1.      400 grams of bread flour

2.      8 grams of salt

3.      4 grams of sugar

4.      260 grams of water

5.      0.8 grams of active yeast

I slowly add items 2-5 to the flour in my stand mixer while mixing at slow speed.  I then mix at medium speed for 5 minutes.  Finally, I test it with "slap-and-fold" kneading to verify that the gluten is well developed.  The whole batch goes into a bowl coated with olive oil and then into my wine fridge at 65 degrees Fahrenheit overnight.  The next day at around 11am I divided the dough into two and worked it into balls.  These went back into olive oil coated bowls and into the wine fridge.

For toppings my wife helped me put together:
Mozarella
Asiago
Italian sweet peppers
Yellow onions
Garlic
Canned olives
Chopped basil

 It was seriously the best pizza I ever made - a vegetarian pizza!  The crust bottom was crisp and no smokiness.

The Good, the bad, and the...

Running

The good

My new Rides!

The bad

The local 5k race I signed up for got cancelled!

The good

I took my Rides out for a....(wait for it)... ride!  At least I amuse myself.  Inside the Rides are these:

I'm not sure if they made a difference, but I saw Currexxoles on a blog, did some research and thought, "Hmmm."  Then I bought them.  They sure made for a comfortable...oh, nevermind.

I ran 10 miles this morning at a new personal best of 10:09 pace.  I'm not sure I could have maintained it for 3.1 more miles, but I'm pretty sure I could have beat a 10:39, my previous best.  I guess all of those aerobic miles in preparation for the race paid off in their own way.  Still, I need to sign-up for a race.  All I have is the Mother's day race I did last year, and I never even got a time for that.  I want to run the San Jose Rock and Roll half marathon, but I'm not sure I am ready for something that big.

My miles for this week:

9/8 to 9/14     Day Activity Miles Monday Aerobic 6.35 Tuesday Intervals 4 Wednesday Aerobic 5.5 Thursday Intervals 5.4 Friday Organic 6.1 Saturday Aerobic 5.45 Sunday Long Run 10     42.8

Less then 50, but more than I thought due to the 10 mile jaunt instead of 3.1 miles.

.

The bad

My Jaybirds died!

I am very sad.  They were expensive.  I haven't had them that long.  I bought:

It turns any earbuds into a bluetooth device and it was relatively cheap.  The earbuds I bought for it died the second day I used them, so I picked up:

They are Yurbuds and I saw them on a blog where they got a good review.  I hope they last.  Mine are orange and don't feel like they are going to fall out - a real problem for me.  Most earbuds I get, even with the largest adapter start falling out.  These are guaranteed not to fall out.

The Tasty

Culatello anyone?

It is quite tasty.  I had a plate of this plus Lardo, some bread and Swiss cheese.

Time for some cured salmon:

It's under the brick with a lot of sugar, salt, tumeric, lemon zest, fennel, and white pepper.  I've decided not to smoke this one.  I will probably use it to flavor my salad lunch, slice thinly over rice and maybe even have on a bagel with cream cheese and capers.

Before and After

Running

Last week I managed to knock out another 50+ mile week:

9/1 to 9/8
Day	Activity	Miles
Monday	Aerobic	6.35
Tuesday	Intervals	4
Wednesday	Aerobic	6.35
Thursday	Intervals	4.2
Friday	Organic	9.9
Saturday	Aerobic	6.35
Sunday	Long Run	13.7
		50.85

However a terrible thing happened to my beloved Gel Cumulus shoes:

A hole!  Here is the before picture:

See what 400 miles can do to a pair of shoes!  So "they" recommend that you replace a pair of running shoes every 300-500 miles.  I am suspicious of the source for this number.  I suspect it comes from running shoe manufacturers.  Still, I can't expect great support from shoes with a hole in them.  Most importantly, it gave me an excuse to BUY MORE RUNNING SHOES!

So I got online and started researching.  I like Runner's world for reviews, but I also compare them to reviews on Zappos and Amazon.  I settled on Saucony's Rides after reading this review from a 51 year old, something about the similarity in age.

However, I've had Saucony's before and I'm in that stage of shoe buying where I want diversity, to try different great shoes in order to find the Ultimate shoe.  I've been wanting to try Brooks Ghosts, but was turned away from a review that said they were soft but had no arch support.  Then while reading running blogs (I do a lot of that now) I found this post on So Cal Gal's blog.  What sold me was that she drank the minimalist kool-aid also and then went back to Ghosts after several injuries.  So I ordered the Ghosts too.

That's right, I will have two different shoes to break in and try side-by-side.  I just hope I can concentrate on running while wearing them.

Imposed rest week

This week in running I had to ramp down the mileage for several reasons:

1. I had an early morning meeting at work on Wednesday.
2. I had an exam to set up early in the morning on Thursday.
3. Sunday (my usual long run day) I am racing a 5k.

I did intervals on Tuesday, and started feeling sore around the Gracilis muscle, or perhaps it was an adductor.  Either way it put me into recovery mode and I have been running aerobic miles the last two days at the gym.  I had to run on the treadmill because it has been too damn hot to run outside.  Today I get to run outside.  Even though my Gracilis is not bothering me this morning I'm going to keep it aerobic so as to not risk injury before the race.

Culinary

Not much to report here.  I slow cooked another pork shoulder and took about a pound to cook with a red onion and about a pound of mushrooms.  When all was well cooked (about 30 minutes) I added a cup and a half of rice followed by 2 and a half cups of preheated water from my tea kettle.   Twenty minutes later it was pork with mushroom sauce and rice.  Adding a little soy sauce was a perfect match seeing as soy sauce is made through fungal fermentations.

Also, my cured pork is ready!

68% of original weight.  I am going to refrigerate before slicing at which time I will take pictures.