What I Think About When I'm Running

Just about 1 week until the B.A.A. 5K in Boston!

It’s the day before the marathon, so it tends to take a back seat…but it’s a great race, nonetheless.

And of course, race weekend means….MARATHON CONVENTION. I love the convention, and go every year. Love the freebies, and also love plopping down money on a Boston Marathon souvenir. Each year I grab something that I can use as a runner, even if I don’t plan on ever running Boston. Got a great hat the year before last; it says “Wicked Fast Runner” on it…it’s a Boston thing :)

Wow. Today, while I was perusing the interwebs for things to blog about, I happened upon this blog post, titled “Overcoming Mid-Week Tempo Fears.” 

Fear? Do people fear the Tempo? 

Turns out they do. A forum on the Runner’s World website features the following comments:

-“Does anyone else get stressed out before a tempo run?”

-“Tempo runs stress me out…and I have avoided them for a long time.”

-“I can’t sleep the night before.”

I fear it, too. I think about my tempo runs days in advance. Basically, as soon as I finish one I’m thinking about the next (although nothing, ever, stops me from getting sleep). I think Tempo Anxiety comes from knowing that this is the closest you will come to racing before you actually complete your race. So, every time you get out there for a Tempo, you can expect to finish with an idea of how well you will perform on race day-and that’s scary! Of course, we race faster than we Tempo Run. But if Tempos hurt, won’t racing hurt more? If I struggle on a Tempo, will I struggle too much in a race?

These questions are, bluntly, stupid. Firstly, I have run many races (and you probably have, too) and know what to expect by now. So asking if the race will hurt so much that I can’t even finish is pointless. Of course I can-of course YOU can! 

These are nerves speaking. What we all might do well learning is that nerves are a clever mix of adrenaline and stress hormones. And while these things aren’t good to have lying around all the time, they are your bodies “fight or flight” chemicals and…will probably help you get through that Tempo. So embrace the fear! After all, we run fastest when we are afraid. 

(Right? Bears would terrify me, and I think I would sprint away from one out of sheer terror.)

(Here’s our favorite lady looking as pained as we all do at the end of a tempo)

My brand new Forerunner 210! 

Used it for the first time today (without the heart rate monitor, although that was included). I do admit to enjoying how cool I feel with a fancy training watch :)

My only concern so far-again, first day using it ever-is that the “Current Pace” feature was a bit jumpy. When I began running, there were a few seconds when the watch said I was running a 3:25/mile pace, which is simply NOT POSSIBLE. I checked to make sure the reading was in minutes per miles and not 800 meter splits…and it was indeed miles.I had to resort to using the “Average Pace” feature, but was a little bummed about that since one of the draws of the 210 is its Current Pace capability.

Anyone out there have any advice?

I’m including this amazing excerpt from Greg McMillan’s Running site, because I think knowing a bit about your body’s inner workings can be a big motivator when you don’t want to do hard workouts!

Stamina Training

This zone corresponds to when you are running between two and half hour race pace to about your 25 minute race pace. Optimal Stamina training occurs when your heart rate is between 83 and 92% of its maximum (though this can vary from runner to runner), and oxygen consumption is 85-90% of max. In this zone, your breathing is fast but under control. The effort has been described as “comfortably hard” and your lactate level hangs around 2.5 to five millimolar, right about where your lactate threshold occurs.

Research has shown that training in the Stamina zone helps push several critical thresholds (lactate, ventilatory and anaerobic) to faster paces. The result is that you can run faster before crossing these thresholds. The key cardiorespiratory adaptations that result from Stamina training deal with what scientists call the “Lactate Shuttle”. While we used to think that lactate simply started being produced and eventually accumulated to the point where fatigue sets in, we now know that lactate is always being formed, just at different rates. At rest and during light exercise, only small amounts are formed. During heavy exercise, large amounts are produced. Once formed, the body has mechanisms whereby the lactate is “shuttled” to other tissues to be used for fuel, sort of like recycling. This recycling or shuttling has a maximum capacity, however. Once reached, the production of lactate outpaces its removal resulting in the accumulation of it in the blood. Thus, the lactate threshold is reached.

I should note that lactate has a partner, a hydrogen ion. When the lactate and the hydrogen ion are together, they form lactic acid. Once produced, however, lactic acid readily splits into lactate and its former pal, the hydrogen ion. Like lactate, the hydrogen ion which causes the working muscle cells to become more acidic and begin to fatigue, is controlled, up to a limit, by the body. This process is called the bicarbonate buffering system. This system captures the hydrogen ion thereby forestalling the rise in acidity in the muscles. Once this system is overwhelmed, however, the cells become more and more acidic which interferes with energy production and leads directly to fatigue.

Stamina training helps to improve the efficiency of these two processes and over time, results in less lactate and hydrogen ions accumulating, effectively pushing your lactate threshold to a higher pace.

You experience this adaptation as the ability to run longer and faster before “going over the edge” and suffering from lactic acid overload. Research has shown over and over that the speed at your lactate threshold is the most important factor in distance running success (5K to marathon racing). Push your lactate threshold faster and you will race faster over all distances. 

Fighting words! Do you agree?

Photo: FloTrack

Text: Original

*I do not own this photo*

Original Text

I’m running the B.A.A. 10K this summer!

Isn’t it said that running is a metaphor for life? Perhaps I just say that to myself a lot, when I’m tired and outside in the sun and need something to motivate me towards the end of a run. In any case, a few common threads come up….And yes, I think, Running is like life because:

• Yes, it hurts, but that doesn’t mean you just stop in the middle of it. 
• Sometimes the most cowardly thing to do is turn around and see what’s coming up behind you.
• No matter how slow going things get, you can only go in in one direction: forward.
• Occasionally it gets rocky. That’s when you hope that you have both the alertness and the strength not to fall on your face. 
• People will pass you by. That doesn’t mean you should hurry to catch up. Let them go. They are simply at different places in their (running) lives than you are.
• You will pass others by. If it’s because you’re doing well and feeling great, keep going. If it’s because they are struggling, slow down and offer them a smile. 
• Most of them time, if you really look into another runner’s eyes, you’ll see yourself in there, too. 
• You set goals, you modify plans, and, hopefully, you reward yourself. But when you fail, you don’t whine. You take a minute to gather your wits, figure out what went wrong, and get back out there. 
• It’s not about every little detail (today’s mile splits; some blisters; missing a run because of the flu)-it’s about the good habits you form and the consistency you have over the long run.
• And about that LONG RUN. It’s a slog. So you go slow and pace yourself, because you know what’s ahead of you. 

Did I miss anything?