If you're interested and in the Boulder area, the Bolder Boulder training group (bbtc) is now taking registrations for their holiday training program.
I've been training with the BBTC for the last four months, ever since my doctor cleared me to run again, and not only have they helped me recover from my series of injuries, they've put me back far ahead of where I thought I'd be at this point. It's a great group of people (we're off to the bar tonight for our final party) and the coaches are quite impressive themselves. Training director Ewen North just won the other half in Moab a few weeks ago. Another coach was a top finisher in the Kona Ironman. And a third (the wife of the previously mentioned ironman) just received a gold medal in the world Duathalon championships.
In any case, I highly recommend the program. I believe if you register now it's still $119 for the next three months of training. If you're interested in improving your times for longer distances (5k up) or if you're just interested in finishing the race, whatever your pace, whatever your fitness level, I highly recommend the BBTC.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Hangover Cure
Running remains the best hangover cure I've ever found. Sunday morning, slightly hung over from the rather interesting night before, I woke up late for me (ie 8 in the morning) and stumbled outside for the morning run. The first mile or so was pretty wretched, but as I got moving, the legs, and head, felt better, and I started to take off. About two miles from my house, I turned the same direction as another morning runner. Naturally, as such things do, we started pushing the pace a little bit. 13 minutes and a little over two miles later, he gave in and turned down another street, slowing down.
Meanwhile, I felt amazing, and continued, albeit slightly slower, for the remaining mile of my run.
In other news, I opted to register for the 10k rather than the half marathon for this weekend. It'll be interesting to see what I can do, as I've only raced one 10k (at sea level) in my life. With any luck, one of my training partners will run too, and we can pace each other.
Meanwhile, I felt amazing, and continued, albeit slightly slower, for the remaining mile of my run.
In other news, I opted to register for the 10k rather than the half marathon for this weekend. It'll be interesting to see what I can do, as I've only raced one 10k (at sea level) in my life. With any luck, one of my training partners will run too, and we can pace each other.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Moonlight run
Possibly the best run I've ever had. Perfect weather: clear, crisp, and fresh. The sun was going down over the foothills as we headed out. Legs felt amazing, Jessica took off, and we followed. A 30 minute run switched before long to a 52 minute run.
We turned around the same place we did on Saturday for an hour run, and it still felt good.
Our way back was lit by the full moon, most often to our right as we headed north. At one point, there were four deer pacing us for a few yards before turning off into the field. 2 miles out from our cars, we came up behind two riders on horseback, first mistaken for a pair of spruce trees, then gradually materializing into animals.
Through the tunnel under highway 36, it felt like a different world, the literal light at the end of the tunnel. For a few moments, it felt like I was not going forward, merely drifting to the right, while running in place. Finally, even with the moon lighting our way, it was hard to see where we were putting our feet, but we cruised on nonetheless, back into the parking lot where the rest of the runners were wondering where we'd been.
What a crazy amazing run. The run of a lifetime.
We turned around the same place we did on Saturday for an hour run, and it still felt good.
Our way back was lit by the full moon, most often to our right as we headed north. At one point, there were four deer pacing us for a few yards before turning off into the field. 2 miles out from our cars, we came up behind two riders on horseback, first mistaken for a pair of spruce trees, then gradually materializing into animals.
Through the tunnel under highway 36, it felt like a different world, the literal light at the end of the tunnel. For a few moments, it felt like I was not going forward, merely drifting to the right, while running in place. Finally, even with the moon lighting our way, it was hard to see where we were putting our feet, but we cruised on nonetheless, back into the parking lot where the rest of the runners were wondering where we'd been.
What a crazy amazing run. The run of a lifetime.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Less than two weeks
I race again on the 3rd of November. I haven't decided yet whether to run the half marathon or just do the 10k that goes along with it. Part of me wants to race the half, because the Golden Leaf didn't exactly give me the opportunity to get a decent time. As my friend and training partner just ran a 1:30:08 in the Denver Half to win her age group, I'd rather like to see what I can do. On the other hand, I don't want to wear myself out too much. My winter training program starts soon, and I want to run the Rock'n'Roll Phoenix in January. Plus, I think I could probably race a decent 10k and recover more quickly.
Meanwhile, I've continued my three run per weekend routine, running twice on Saturday and again on Sunday (in the snow!). I think the first snow of the year is always my favorite run, despite the fact that I always, always overheat. There's something peaceful about it, even when the wind is gusting at 45mph.
On another note, I've been working on my form a lot lately. My coach wants me to run up on my toes more, with almost no heel striking. I've been doing it, and I think it's actually working. Part of it is certainly my training increasing my fitness, but I've been completing my "normal" runs a lot faster than I used to, setting PRs on all of my normal loops. While this seems to be working, running further forward on my feet means that my calves are constantly tighter and more sore than they usually were before the switch. It's proven difficult to continue doing my normal biking commute and walking around town even. Hopefully this will go away fairly soon, or at least in the next month or so, but in the meantime, ouch.
Continuing with the "running forward" theme, I'm also considering trying out the Newtons, which are designed to force you to run further forward. I'm debating when to do this. My shoes are getting close to wearing out, but I don't want to switch to the Newtons right before a race. Add to that the fact that the Newtons are almost twice as much as my regular shoes, and you see the problem . . .
Lots to think about. Meanwhile, an hour overdistance today, followed by an interval workout tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I've continued my three run per weekend routine, running twice on Saturday and again on Sunday (in the snow!). I think the first snow of the year is always my favorite run, despite the fact that I always, always overheat. There's something peaceful about it, even when the wind is gusting at 45mph.
On another note, I've been working on my form a lot lately. My coach wants me to run up on my toes more, with almost no heel striking. I've been doing it, and I think it's actually working. Part of it is certainly my training increasing my fitness, but I've been completing my "normal" runs a lot faster than I used to, setting PRs on all of my normal loops. While this seems to be working, running further forward on my feet means that my calves are constantly tighter and more sore than they usually were before the switch. It's proven difficult to continue doing my normal biking commute and walking around town even. Hopefully this will go away fairly soon, or at least in the next month or so, but in the meantime, ouch.
Continuing with the "running forward" theme, I'm also considering trying out the Newtons, which are designed to force you to run further forward. I'm debating when to do this. My shoes are getting close to wearing out, but I don't want to switch to the Newtons right before a race. Add to that the fact that the Newtons are almost twice as much as my regular shoes, and you see the problem . . .
Lots to think about. Meanwhile, an hour overdistance today, followed by an interval workout tomorrow.
Monday, October 15, 2007
2 a day
On Saturday, I ran twice in one day for the first time since college. And as far as I can tell, there were no ill effects.
Saturday morning's run was somewhat unsatisfying. My normal training partner was not there, as she was to run the Denver half the next day. Incidentally, she won her age group with a 1:30 half. So congrats to her. In any case, since she wasn't there, I ended up running with a slower group (as a "coach," though I am not officially). While it was fun to run and talk with them, it was also much slower than my normal overdistance pace. So I got to the end of an hour run feeling like I hadn't run at all. I got a job offer out of the deal, though, so it's not all bad.
So, the long and the short of it is that I ended up feeling like I needed a run later in the day. So at about 6:30 (when it was already getting dark) I opted to join my roommate for his run. I probably only ended up with 10 or 11 miles on the day, but it was, as I said, the first time in several years that I'd done two (running) workouts in the same day.
Sunday I was a subject in my friend's PhD research, which consisted of walking on a treadmill while being pulled forward or other directions. It was surprisingly difficult, though that was mainly because of the tube I had to breath in and out of in order for her to collect metabolic data.
I ended up going for a very brief run that day. I was actually quite tired, but I think that was more from the walking that morning than the two runs the day before.
Saturday morning's run was somewhat unsatisfying. My normal training partner was not there, as she was to run the Denver half the next day. Incidentally, she won her age group with a 1:30 half. So congrats to her. In any case, since she wasn't there, I ended up running with a slower group (as a "coach," though I am not officially). While it was fun to run and talk with them, it was also much slower than my normal overdistance pace. So I got to the end of an hour run feeling like I hadn't run at all. I got a job offer out of the deal, though, so it's not all bad.
So, the long and the short of it is that I ended up feeling like I needed a run later in the day. So at about 6:30 (when it was already getting dark) I opted to join my roommate for his run. I probably only ended up with 10 or 11 miles on the day, but it was, as I said, the first time in several years that I'd done two (running) workouts in the same day.
Sunday I was a subject in my friend's PhD research, which consisted of walking on a treadmill while being pulled forward or other directions. It was surprisingly difficult, though that was mainly because of the tube I had to breath in and out of in order for her to collect metabolic data.
I ended up going for a very brief run that day. I was actually quite tired, but I think that was more from the walking that morning than the two runs the day before.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Jelly Legs
My legs are definitely not all there this morning. This would not be so bad if it weren't for the fact that they've been like this for two days now. On Tuesday, we did 400 repeats in the bbtc. I surprised myself somewhat by doing 10 of them between 1:15 and 1:20, and still feeling like I could do more. Granted, given how my legs feel now, I'm glad I didn't, but it did feel like my legs had finally shown up to work again after my half marathon a few eeks ago.
Yesterday, my legs were so sore that I ended up biking instead of running, for the first time since the day after my race. What started as a simple, easy bike ride turned into some rather fun single track mountain biking up north of Boulder. The primary accomplishment yesterday was that I put my shoulder through more than I probably have since my surgery, and it performed quite well. Didn't even hurt. My left shoulder is still giving me trouble, but I think that will happen until I have the same operation on that one that I did on my right. My plan at the moment is to put that day off as long as possible, and get some good races in in the meantime.
After the ride, I finally put up the practice board for my bouldering training. I've lost so much of my upper body with all the running I"ve been doing that i felt positively weak trying the thing out, but I trust that will fade as I use it more. At one point, I could do 30 pull-ups non-stop. Right now, I'm lucky if I can do 5. But, that also means less weight I have to carry on my runs. It's a tossup.
Today's workout: 20 minute tempo run, probably around 7 min pace, so nothing too difficult. Only thing is, I have to get it done before 6PM so that I can get to the tapping at the walnut . . .
Running rules my life, but I guess beer comes in a close second.
Countdown to my next race: 23 days.
Yesterday, my legs were so sore that I ended up biking instead of running, for the first time since the day after my race. What started as a simple, easy bike ride turned into some rather fun single track mountain biking up north of Boulder. The primary accomplishment yesterday was that I put my shoulder through more than I probably have since my surgery, and it performed quite well. Didn't even hurt. My left shoulder is still giving me trouble, but I think that will happen until I have the same operation on that one that I did on my right. My plan at the moment is to put that day off as long as possible, and get some good races in in the meantime.
After the ride, I finally put up the practice board for my bouldering training. I've lost so much of my upper body with all the running I"ve been doing that i felt positively weak trying the thing out, but I trust that will fade as I use it more. At one point, I could do 30 pull-ups non-stop. Right now, I'm lucky if I can do 5. But, that also means less weight I have to carry on my runs. It's a tossup.
Today's workout: 20 minute tempo run, probably around 7 min pace, so nothing too difficult. Only thing is, I have to get it done before 6PM so that I can get to the tapping at the walnut . . .
Running rules my life, but I guess beer comes in a close second.
Countdown to my next race: 23 days.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Background
So, as is normally done in the first post of a blog, I thought I'd give a little background about both myself and the blog. So here goes:
I'm a 20 something runner, currently living in Boulder, appropriately, and attending grad school at CU. At this point, I have raced most distances from high jump (though that's not really a race) through the half marathon. In high school I was a sprinter, decent enough to make captain of the track team for a small school my junior and senior years. I ran the 100, 200, and 400 mostly, and also competed in the long jump (19'3" was my best jump). I took several years off in college, returning to run as a middle distance runner my senior year indoor season, where I ran the 800 and 1000m. I was, as is now unsurprising, sidelined by a hamstring injury for the outdoor season, and did not run any sort of long distance for about 8 months.
Since moving out to Boulder, I have been inconsistent. A year and a half into my time here, I was again sidelined by a dislocated shoulder that required subsequent surgery last November. Around the time that was declared healed enough for me to run and bike again, I broke my leg. The long and the short of it is, I was unable to run until the end of May this year, and have subsequently been rebuilding, working on building a base and getting some races under my belt. Since mid-August I have run a 10k (41:53 TT), two 5ks (19:29, good enough for 3rd in my age group in one), I ran the Pearl Street Mile in 5:17, which is about 40 seconds off my PR, and the Golden Leaf Half Marathon in Aspen in 1:50, food for 37th place.
The next race on my schedule now is the Heart Center of the Rockies Half Marathon, on November 3rd. With any luck, I'll post a sub-1:30 time and go from there.
I'm a 20 something runner, currently living in Boulder, appropriately, and attending grad school at CU. At this point, I have raced most distances from high jump (though that's not really a race) through the half marathon. In high school I was a sprinter, decent enough to make captain of the track team for a small school my junior and senior years. I ran the 100, 200, and 400 mostly, and also competed in the long jump (19'3" was my best jump). I took several years off in college, returning to run as a middle distance runner my senior year indoor season, where I ran the 800 and 1000m. I was, as is now unsurprising, sidelined by a hamstring injury for the outdoor season, and did not run any sort of long distance for about 8 months.
Since moving out to Boulder, I have been inconsistent. A year and a half into my time here, I was again sidelined by a dislocated shoulder that required subsequent surgery last November. Around the time that was declared healed enough for me to run and bike again, I broke my leg. The long and the short of it is, I was unable to run until the end of May this year, and have subsequently been rebuilding, working on building a base and getting some races under my belt. Since mid-August I have run a 10k (41:53 TT), two 5ks (19:29, good enough for 3rd in my age group in one), I ran the Pearl Street Mile in 5:17, which is about 40 seconds off my PR, and the Golden Leaf Half Marathon in Aspen in 1:50, food for 37th place.
The next race on my schedule now is the Heart Center of the Rockies Half Marathon, on November 3rd. With any luck, I'll post a sub-1:30 time and go from there.
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