14-Miler

Daily Quote:

"Most runners come to this sport with a metabolism trained for speed: I.E. burn lots of carbohydrate fast. What you need for ultras is a metabolism trained for endurance: I.E. be stingy on carbo burning and burn fat instead. Any damn fool can run fast for 20 miles. To run well for 50 requires a specific type of response from the endocrine system. You can train your body to deliver that, but only if you run long enough to get tired and hungry. For most runners that implies doing 3 or 4 runs in the range of 25-30 miles."

--Karl King, ultramarathoner

Today I achieved a 14-miler, which is my longest run since the 2008 Boston Marathon on April 21st...I have a long way to go before I can accomplish runs in the 25-30 miles range as mentioned in the above quote, but I have plenty of time to gradually add mileage before "Labor of Love 50k" next April.

10:30 a.m. Medium-Long Run, progressive. 13 miles. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. 4 miles at 6.3 mph, 5 miles at 6.4 mph, and 5 miles at 6.5 mph. Average heart rate: 152 bpm. Cardiac Drift 161 bpm. No aches nor soreness and I appear to be fully recovered from my sore right ankle from last week as well. The gym was crowded and noisy and my Sony CD Player came in handy as I listened to "Elton John's Greatest Hits." I drank one bottle of Gatorade and could add a bottle of water to my next Medium-Long Run as well...next week I'll attempt a 15-miler!

Today I received a thank-you letter from a passenger I had in my cab two months ago. I normally give away running magazines to those in my cabs who are runners or those who had conversations with me in regards to running...John Noren from Phoenix was one of those passengers who asked how I stayed so thin driving a cab when he's 33 years old and 300 pounds...as usual I told him my story of losing weight and regaining my youth via running. At the end of the fare, I gave him my "Runner's World Magazine" that I just finished reading. I often consider myself the Johnny Appleseed of running, but I didn't expect to receive a thank you note! He stated that our chance meeting had changed his life and he's now running three times a week. Funny, I didn't think that a passenger would look me up via my magazine's mailing label, nor that I would change his life, which does give me a warm glow!

Relaxing Weekend

Daily Quote:

"Don't let the distance scare you; run from aid station to aid station and the distance will take care of itself."

--Karl King, Ultramarathoner

Relaxing weekend!! I didn't do many chores nor errands, pretty much relaxed with the wife and visited friends Mary and Glenn last night. I didn't spend much time on the computer this weekend either. Running was minimal; yesterday ran an easy six miler and today also ran an easy six miler, both on the dreadmill. Only two more months before I can run on the roads again due to Vegas hot summer months, I can hardly wait to run outside again. Keeping this post short as we'll soon be practicing bowling at the Gold Coast Bowling Lanes. Life is good!

Right Ankle is Better

Daily Quote:

"Training and racing are great teachers about health for an athlete. But the athlete must listen to what they have to teach."

--Scott Jurek, ultramarathoner (from his site, "scottjurek.com"

This morning my right ankle wasn't sore, nevertheless, I'm taking some precautions and setting the treadmill at a zero grade/elevation, also if my ankle becomes sore anytime during the run, I'll stop the workout.

10:15 a.m. General Aerobic Run. 9 miles. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a zero grade. 5 miles at 6.3 mph and last four miles at 6.4 mph. Average heart rate: 140 bpm. Cardiac drift: 146 bpm. (Note: my maximum heart is 190 bpm). My heart rate was lower than last week and the run felt much easier, undoubtedly due to my setting the treadmill at zero grade.

Ankle wasn't sore during or after the run; tomorrow is a Recovery Run, which should help the ankle heal even more. I'll also be icing both ankles after work. Next Friday I'll be increasing this General Aerobic Run to ten miles, which will then be a Medium-Long Run. Eventually, Monday's Medium-Long Run will become a Long Run. Slowy adding mileage is exciting for me as it shows real progress as I dream of future glories in the marathons and ultramarathons.

Sore Right Ankle

Daily Quote:

"The biggest difference I noticed in running an ultra is the amount of walking you do. When most people train for a marathon they want to run the whole way if possible. No one (well no one as slow as me, at least) runs a whole 50 miler the first time. I don't know for sure but I'd guess I walked close to half of my 50 and I finished okay. So one thing I'd definitely recommend is to practice walking as part of your long runs. It is a lot easier to run 30 miles either walking the uphills or walking 1 minute every six or whatever than to just run it straight."

--Andy MacGinnitie, ultramarathoner

This morning when I awoke my right ankle was slightly sure, therefore today not only will I run a Recovery Run, but also run slower as well as set the treadmill's grade to zero.

9:45 a.m. Recovery Run. 5 miles. Life Fitness Treadmill set at zero grade/elevation. All 5 miles were at 6.0 mph (10 minute miles). Average heart rate: 137 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 143 bpm. Took my ankle just 5 minutes to warm up and then didn't feel any soreness. After my run I quickly did a weight circuit training. Went home from the gym, took a shower and then proceeded to massage my right ankle with the shower massage head with cold water at full blast. Hopefully my ankle will feel better for tomorrow's general aerobic run.

Faster Tempo Run

Daily Quote:

To become a better and safer downhill runner, concentrate on using
a relatively short stride with a very fast turnover. Try to think about
lifting your foot up the very instant it hits the trail. Let your
legs go free. Don't tense up or pull back- you waste energy braking.
You will feel tired due to the very fast turnover, but you are actually
doing your legs a favor and they recover in no time at the bottom. There
are practical limits to this method: you may have to brake at
switchbacks, and you must maintain control on dangerous or crowded
trails. As always, you must start slow and build up. If you do not
do speedwork, the fast turnover will fry your hamstrings. If you are
doing this on pavement, it also works, but you will want to build
up your shin muscles.
I used to be a slow, conservative downhill runner, but improved
dramatically in very little time with this technique.

--Howard Breinan, Ultramarathoner

Today is my scheduled Tempo Run, I haven't done speedwork since June 12th due to Recovery Week. I decided to slightly increase my speed to 7.5 mph, if it's too much I could always slow down the treadmill or cut the workout short.

11:00 a.m. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. Total Distance: 6 miles. Warm-up: 2 miles at 6.3 mph. Tempo: 3 miles at 7.5 mph. Cool-down: 1 mile at 6.3 mph. Average heart rate: 159 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 174 bpm. (Note: My maximum heart rate is 190 bpm) I was able to increase my speed and maintain my form with no problems, heart rate is a little higher than what I wished, hence I will run the same tempo run next week.

As usual, whenever I finish a strong speed workout I start fantasizing about entering a 5k race soon...as soon as I returned home browsed the local running internet sites...I soon awoke from my fantasy as Vegas is too hot for races in the summer months.

Last night I went to the Union Meeting during work (Note to supervisors: I took a lunch break)...they had FREE donuts, I was a bad boy and had two chocolate eclairs.

No Rest Today

Daily Quote:

Pacing is critical! Especially the first few hours. Go out very
conservative. Create a plan whereas you forget about laps (but not forgetting to
pack your counter). Try a run/walk strategy such as 20 minutes of running
followed by 10 minutes of walking. Continue this pattern for each half hour for
as long as you possibly can.

--Paul Olson when asked advice on reaching 100 miles in 24 hours.

Normally I would take a rest day after a previous day running a Long or Medium-Long Run, but today I'll be running a Recovery Run as I strive to run seven days this week.

9:30 a.m. Recovery Run. 6 miles. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. Three miles at 6.3 mph and the last three at 6.4 mph. Average heart rate: 141 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 147 bpm. (Note: my maximum heart rate is 190 bpm) No aches nor pain, felt tired, yet still wanted to complete a weight circuit after the run. Did two sets on the weight circuit and headed back home for a much needed nap.

13 Miler!

Daily Quote:

"I gazed in envy at ultra runners whose quadriceps had the kind of definition
that tells you Secretariat is somewhere in their family tree."

--Liz Zelandais, writing about the Dam 50k Run/Relay

Today is the first day of my next four week cycle, (I will increase my mileage each week during the first three weeks and use the fourth week for recovery) What better way to start the cycle than my longest run since the Boston Marathon!

9:30 a.m. Medium-Long Run, progressive. 13 miles. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. 4 miles at 6.3 mph, 4 miles at 6.4 mph, and 5 miles at 6.5 mph. Average heart rate: 150 bpm. Cardiac Drift 159 bpm. Bad rash on my inner thighs, need to remember to apply Body Glide next time. Drank one large bottle of Gatorade, but could have drank more as the gym was very warm this morning. After my run I had a feeling of great satisfaction that I'm doing very well and improving steadily. Next week I'll attempt a 14-miler!