I read an interesting article in the latest Canadian Running magazine about a training camp in Kenya. The article describes lots of good stuff about the running culture there, and it's amazing how blissed-out it all sounds. They wake and run. Then they eat. Then in the afternoon, they run again. Then they eat a lot. Then they nap. Then when evening comes, they run again. Then eat. Then lots of sleep.
Run-eat-sleep.
Part of me thinks living like that would be crazy – but most of me thinks it would be awesome. And it has inspired me to think about experimenting with two-a-days. The article talks about how splitting the miles up throughout the day is the best way to push mileage without killing your legs. I find that I don’t like doing more than 15k in one run on an easy day, so if I want to push my mileage, the only sane and safe way to do it would be to add in a second short easy run.
It’s food for thought.
On Wednesday, I was back on the track. Even though I’d pretty much melted down last Tuesday, Cliff wanted me to be aggressive. He put me with Tyler and Asaf and told us to run 2min - 2min rest - 1min – 1 min rest – 30s – 30s rest – 2min and so forth for 6 sets of 2-1-30. Sounds okay, right? Sure. But he told us to run them at 5:00min/mile pace (75s lap pace). And, of course, we started out at a pace way too fast. I didn’t bother checking my watch much because only the 2minuters got us a full lap, but on the second 2min, we went through the lap in 72s (3:00/k pace). Yikes. It was a very tough slog, and I’m not sure I was holding the pace by the end, but I got through it and felt way better than last Tuesday.
The key to that kind of workout is pace control – something the three of us weren’t good at. You could pretty much fake the 1min and 30s intervals, but there was no hiding for the 2min ones, especially because they came after only 30s rest – and if you went too hard in the 30s run, you were doomed. The run was all about feeling out the pace and being fast without pushing.
So today Alex and I ran recovery: slow pace for only 35min. Things are feeling good. I’ll take tomorrow off and await whatever Cliff dishes up on Saturday.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Mileage Cycle
Since starting with Cliff more than a year ago, I’ve been trying to plan my weekly mileage according to a basic three-week cycle: two weeks high, one week low. During the lead up to the Blue Nose, I’ve defined “high” as between 90-100km, while low, according to Cliff, is always 70% of high. It’s funny, though, how difficult it is to hit the low number when things are going well and I’m running consistently. It doesn’t help that Cliff doesn’t lay off the workouts during the low weeks.
This week is supposed to be a low week for me. My last two weeks were 100k and 95k, so this one should be 70k or a little under. We’ll see how close I come. Monday was no shorter than usual (14k) because I ran with Alex, and he doesn’t really abide by the two up, one down rule at this point. But I’d much rather have a great running partner and do a few extra ks than get all obsessively wrapped up in the numbers to the point of becoming anti-social.
Today, I ran alone, so I kept the distance at 7.5k, about half of what I would normally do. It’s amazing how short that feels now – and how good it felt running it slow (4:40/k). I think of runs like these as more than just recovery runs – they're restorative runs. They don’t just help work the junk and fatigue out of tired legs; they also work the junk out of my head – they remind me that running just feels great and that it’s wonderful to feel fit. It’s this feeling of well-being that forms the foundation of my running. If I lose that to my obsession with mileage or my obsession with running faster, then running becomes a drain. These “low” weeks with their restorative runs get me back to the foundation.
After that disastrous workout last Tuesday, I’m actually excited again to get back on the track. My legs are feeling less heavy because of all the easy running, and I’ve reconnected with the set of emotions that keeps me running. The schedule calls for a “mixed session” tomorrow, so it should be fun – it’ll be some combination of threshold, V02max, and speed all rolled into one workout – unless, of course, Cliff throws a curve.
This week is supposed to be a low week for me. My last two weeks were 100k and 95k, so this one should be 70k or a little under. We’ll see how close I come. Monday was no shorter than usual (14k) because I ran with Alex, and he doesn’t really abide by the two up, one down rule at this point. But I’d much rather have a great running partner and do a few extra ks than get all obsessively wrapped up in the numbers to the point of becoming anti-social.
Today, I ran alone, so I kept the distance at 7.5k, about half of what I would normally do. It’s amazing how short that feels now – and how good it felt running it slow (4:40/k). I think of runs like these as more than just recovery runs – they're restorative runs. They don’t just help work the junk and fatigue out of tired legs; they also work the junk out of my head – they remind me that running just feels great and that it’s wonderful to feel fit. It’s this feeling of well-being that forms the foundation of my running. If I lose that to my obsession with mileage or my obsession with running faster, then running becomes a drain. These “low” weeks with their restorative runs get me back to the foundation.
After that disastrous workout last Tuesday, I’m actually excited again to get back on the track. My legs are feeling less heavy because of all the easy running, and I’ve reconnected with the set of emotions that keeps me running. The schedule calls for a “mixed session” tomorrow, so it should be fun – it’ll be some combination of threshold, V02max, and speed all rolled into one workout – unless, of course, Cliff throws a curve.
Monday, March 21, 2011
McRunner
So. There was this guy who ran the L.A. Marathon yesterday in 2:36. That`s a pretty fast time. Not stunning – but it`s serious running, and it’s a time I can only aspire to. But here`s the thing – for the final 30 days leading up to the marathon, he ate only McDonald`s food. Yup. Nothing but whatever he could find at Rotten Ronnie`s. The point? Well, he raised over $27,000 for Ronald McDonald House. It was a stunt, to be sure – but a bona fide charity that does good work did benefit – and that fact will remain well after any potential stink of self-promotion wafts away. You can check out his website to see how it went down.
I generally don’t care for running stunts like these, but there are a couple things I actually like about what this guy did. First, if you look at his training log, you’ll see this guy works hard at his running – way harder than I work at mine. Second, he takes some of the winds of pretension out of the sails of those who look askance on the eating choices of others. For some, it seems, part of the pleasure of being “healthy” is feeling superior to those who make different choices. There’s a lot of self-righteous bullshit that goes along with “health” these days, and this guy’s funny stunt shakes that up a bit (forgive the McDs pun). How many born-again preachy health nuts can lay down a 2:36? Anything that brings us back to our compassion for others is a good thing – and this does in an odd way, I think.
The other thing I like is just the simple fact that this guy put himself on the line to raise money. He risked ridicule from punks like me, and he got the job done.
The thing that gives me pause, though, is how the whole show ends up seeming as much a commercial for McDonald’s (and perhaps for himself too) as it does an act of charity. But I guess this is the danger of fundraising – of trying to get the cause noticed – although all those people who raise money for Arthritis by running marathons seem to do it without making it about them or about some questionable corporate giant. But perhaps nothing is pure. Perhaps that whole “don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” stuff doesn’t raise enough bucks. Maybe I should just accept this kind of fundraising as an ambiguous good. In the end, how much have I raised for charity by running? I doubt it’s more than $1000. So I’ll raise my wax-coated fountain drink cup to the McRunner and wish him the best of luck as he pursues both a worthy charitable cause and corporate sponsorship. Slainte.
As for my own running... long run of 20k on Sunday felt good, as did the 14k easy run today. I’m heeding Cliff’s advice and running very, very easy to get rid of the fatigue. I hope it pays off with a good workout on Wednesday.
I generally don’t care for running stunts like these, but there are a couple things I actually like about what this guy did. First, if you look at his training log, you’ll see this guy works hard at his running – way harder than I work at mine. Second, he takes some of the winds of pretension out of the sails of those who look askance on the eating choices of others. For some, it seems, part of the pleasure of being “healthy” is feeling superior to those who make different choices. There’s a lot of self-righteous bullshit that goes along with “health” these days, and this guy’s funny stunt shakes that up a bit (forgive the McDs pun). How many born-again preachy health nuts can lay down a 2:36? Anything that brings us back to our compassion for others is a good thing – and this does in an odd way, I think.
The other thing I like is just the simple fact that this guy put himself on the line to raise money. He risked ridicule from punks like me, and he got the job done.
The thing that gives me pause, though, is how the whole show ends up seeming as much a commercial for McDonald’s (and perhaps for himself too) as it does an act of charity. But I guess this is the danger of fundraising – of trying to get the cause noticed – although all those people who raise money for Arthritis by running marathons seem to do it without making it about them or about some questionable corporate giant. But perhaps nothing is pure. Perhaps that whole “don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” stuff doesn’t raise enough bucks. Maybe I should just accept this kind of fundraising as an ambiguous good. In the end, how much have I raised for charity by running? I doubt it’s more than $1000. So I’ll raise my wax-coated fountain drink cup to the McRunner and wish him the best of luck as he pursues both a worthy charitable cause and corporate sponsorship. Slainte.
As for my own running... long run of 20k on Sunday felt good, as did the 14k easy run today. I’m heeding Cliff’s advice and running very, very easy to get rid of the fatigue. I hope it pays off with a good workout on Wednesday.
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