Something, Something, Something, Something...Evidence!

WARNING: The following post comtains MATH! If these excerpts bore you, simply imagine the teacher from "Peanuts" is talking and move on. It gets better. I promise!

I am starting to understand the math behind running. Before I started playing golf, I was amazed when a friend instantly knew the par for a course after someone told him how many par 3s and 5s there were. Now that I have played some golf, I know that many courses are par 72 with 6 each par 3s, 4s, and 5s. 4x18=72 so as long as the 3s and 5s are equal you get 72. If there are more threes it is less than 72 etc.

Now I am starting to get that same mathematical sense about running. I was supposed to do 5x1000 repeats at a 7:28 pace this week. I figured the best way to do that (besides my uncanny inner running clock) would be to time 200m splits. So 7:28 is 32 sec under 8:00 so each lap would be 8 sec under 2 min and every 200 needed to be 4 sec under one. So my splits needed to be something:56, something:52, something:48, something:44, and something:40. Conveniently that got me to 4:40 per 1000 which is exactly what my little chart said as well. Not to mention that, even at that pace I could count backwards by 4s. There is a lot of math I CAN'T do wile I run (so I have learned) so this little bit of elementary school subtraction was just enough mental stimulation to keep me from realizing I was running more than 2.5 min per mile faster than my first 5k and only 10 sec per mile slower than my 5k PR pace.

Now all of this is evidence that that I am learning new math (the running variety) AND getting faster. My track work is paying off big time. I still don't think I have "unleashed the beast" within, but I have turned a corner for sure. What started out as some tinkering with form and desire to run faster has turned into an obsession with speed, "the plan" (I like to stick to the plan), and the science of running faster.

Now, being a running nerd in search of running ubernerd status, I know enough not to say that everyone should try to change their form. Hoverer, I do believe that everyone CAN improve their form. To use another golf analogy (and I promise this one won't be so boring), everyone tinkers a little bit wih their swing. By "tinker" I mean things like, "put a little more weight on the inside of your right foot" or "keep your right elbow in". These "swing thoughts" can help immensely (at least for a few shots until the beers and/or bloody maries start kicking in).

Running is no different. I have "stride thoughts" like "lean forward from the ankles up", "head steady", "wide shoulders/arms parallel", "knees up", "don't reach", "faster tempo", "more effort/push", "feet behind you", "smooth", "you're the f#cking man"...you get the picture. Now of course I don't think all these things at once. In the same way that that many thoughts would result in a recipe for disaster in golf, trying to do all of those things at the same time would guarantee that you would do none of them.

So based on my entirely unscientific sample size of one, I have proven that you can improve your form and in the process run faster easier.

For anyone who has stuck with me this long, you are probably wondring about the title of this post. If not, you recognized it from "Weeds" inthe episode where Uncle Andy joins the Army and his buddy gets hit in the chest with some kind of missile/drone shortly after they record each other lighting their farts on fire with their Army-issue cell phone/missile target.

The end.

2011 Race Into Summer 5k

Saturday was a unseasonably cool morning for even early June in Florida. It was also the date of the local running club's annual fundraiser 5k. This was a target race for me. I did 1.5 rounds of Furman FIRST 5k training before I realized I needed to start training for my half marathon before this race would arrive. Going into the race I actually felt like the longer distance workouts would help me maintain pace and hopefully not bonk. I started out at a quick but (somewhat) relaxed pace and settled in behind the front pack but also kept some distance ahead of the next bunch.

The course was an out-and-back (a first for me since all of my prior races had been loops). It started at mile 0 on a paved trail that was marked every 0.5 miles. This meant that I had some pretty good pacing cues. Apparently I wasn't as relaxed as I thought because the volunteer at the 1 mile mark called out "6:45" just before I crossed. My actual time was probably closer to 6:50 which is still a personal best mile split by about 5 seconds.

So I took my foot off the gas a bit and hit the turnaround point at 10:52 and suddenly had hopes (although not overly rational ones) of finishing under 22:00. However, by 2.5 miles that opening 6:45 split came back to haunt me with a resounding "BONK!". I crossed the finish line at 22:37 - a personal record by over a minute from less than 2 months before.

I learned a few good lessons during this race:

1. I start too fast. I did the same thing on my last race. I backed off more quickly that time since I had a GPS squawking at me, but this time I went by feel for the whole first mile. I guess it needs to feel slow.


2. Training at longer distances helps. While I was doing training designed for 5k distance, only my long and tempo runs were over 3 miles. Now even my speed work is hitting 4-5 miles. This means I am pushing myself harder longer so keeping up the pace for 3.1 is easier.


3. Changing my form has helped. I almost completely eliminated my heel striking and concentrated on cadence and body lean as my primary form thoughts for this race. I think I still have some conditioning to do on my upper legs to get used to this form, but it is clearly easier to run faster longer.


4. At my current level, I was able to get huge gains based almost entirely on effort. While I did train hard for 2 months between these 2 races, I'm not convinced I am really over 20 sec per mile faster. Maybe 10-15. Maybe as little as 5. I don't know if I left anything on the table for this race so 22:00 will be the result of training. However 23:00 was as much guts as conditioning.

Overall it was a great, fun race. Seeing the leaders run past me in the opposite direction was new and interesting. The most satisfying part was running to my full (speed) potential for the first time in my running "career".

Running Prowess?

So, this might be the most ridiculous thing to do, or maybe it is normal. It occurred to me that I don't have an official record of my official race times. Now I will.

Date	Race	Distance	Bib #	Age	Overall	Gender	Div	Chip Time	Gun Time	Pace
2/28/2009	RBC SOAR to the Finish	5k	905	35	37 (of 109)		8 (of 16)	31:33.9	31:33.9	10:11
9/25/2010	Miracle Miles	15k	714	37	759 (of 1716)	454 of (749)	67 (of 109)	1:32:58	1:34:49	9:58.5
1/9/2011	Walt Disney World Marathon	26.2 mi	12462	37	4098 (of 13551)	2892 (of 7273)	573 (of 1305)	4:27:35	4:46:25	10:12.8
4/14/2011	Corporate 5k	5k						23:45		7:38
6/11/2011	ORC Race Into Summer 5k	5k	96	37	25 (of 191)	18 (of 95)	6 [30-39]	22:37		7:18
8/13/2011	Florida Fallen Heroes 5k	5k	74	37	43 (of 232)	36 (of 123)	3 (of 8)	24:44.73		7:59
10/1/2011	Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon	13.1 mi	2420	38	952 (of 8254)	641 (of 3041)	129 (of 576)	1:58:39	2:04:46	9:03
6/9/2012	ORC Race Into Summer 5k	5k	72	38	71 (of 232)		6 (of 12)	26:13	26:13	8:26
9/22/2012	Miracle Miles 15k	15k	1113	39	622 (of 1679)	391 (of 759)	60	1:27:38	1:28:10	9:25
11/10/2012	Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon	13.1 mi	737	39	838 (of 11,599)	554 (of 3,933)	109 (of 709)	1:55:40	1:56:30	8:49
1/12/2013	Disney Half Marathon	13.1 mi	42032	39	1241 (of 23,126)	977 (of 9,998)	179 (of 1608)	1:50:50	1:52:09	8:27
9/21/2013	Miracle Miles 15k	9.3 mi	221	40	192 (of 1,761)	139 (of 707)	24 (of 103)	1:15:03	1:15:13	8:03
10/27/2013	Marine Corps Marathon	26.2 mi	16843	40	2492 (of 23,526)	1974 (of 13,537)	327 (of 1,761)	3:42:13	3:47:32	8:28
11/10/2013	Baldwin Park Half Marathon	13.1 mi	187	40	37 (of 315)		6 (of 31)	1:43:10		7:52
11/27/2014	Tallahassee Turkey Trot	5k	Bib	41	818 (of 3865)			30:17	31:02	9:45
2/28/2015	Best Damn Race Half Marathon	13.1 mi	2521	41	154 (of 1000)	98 (of 383)	17 (of 57)	1:52:39.6	1:52:50.6	8:37
3/5/2015	Purple Pride 5k	5k	Bib	41	75		6	22:43		7:18
4/17/2016	Disney Dark Side Half Marathon	13.1 mi	752	42	338	289	54	1:45:01	1:49:16	8:00

Do I Need Fixing?

Don't ask my wife that question! [rim shot] But seriously folks. . . I should be a good runner. I'm 6'1" and about 165 pounds. I've always been pretty athletic and somewhat fast/quick. Other than a bout of adolescent foot pain (which I now think was plantar fasciitis) that knocked me out of one soccer season, I have never had any issues running. It was just part of something I did while playing sports.

When I started running, I had a (possibly somewhat flawed) theory that basically had 2 parts. Part 1: Running efficiently means your energy is going forward and not up and down or side to side. Part 2: To run as fast as possible, every muscle (at least the ones in your legs) must be "engaged" in trying to achieve maximum speed. While there is probably some truth to both of these, I have started to learn that running fast and efficiently is much different when you are talking about a mile (or even a few miles) and longer distances (for me 10k+). Running efficiently means using the right muscles and using them in a way that they will last the whole distance.

So that is the source of my latest running conundrum. My apparent flaw in Part 1 is that by getting my energy moving forward, I was running very upright (too upright by popular convention) with had a very long stride (over-reaching) which caused me to heel strike. This was all part of my "plan" to roll my feet to keep my head nice and steady (like when I was in marching band only faster). My problem with part 2 was that I was giving each stride a little extra push forward off of my toe (when I had the energy to do so). The result was almost constant calf soreness and, when I was running longer distances, "runner's knee". I just assumed the calf soreness was a sign that I was building up the strength I needed and the runners knee was unavoidable due to my age and the mileage needed to train for marathon distance. The calf soreness wasn't too bad and usually went away after the first few strides of my run.

Now I "know" a little better. I know that heel striking can place extra strain on my joints. Along with the rolling action I was thinking was making me more efficient, was most likely slowing me down due to the deceleration during the heel strike and the lack of recoil from my achilles tendons sapped more speed and caused me to use more energy. I "know" this. I have bought into these aspects of running science as sound scientific theory with good physics behind it.

So here is my question, how much do I "fix"? I have switched to a shoe with a more natural sole alignment and have been working on landing on my midfoot. This is something I can do without making drastic changes to my form. However, I still tend to run more with my hip flexors than my quads (picture someone on a NordicTrak) and when I do engage my quads I feel way too "bouncy" and even though I think I am faster and it seems to take less energy, I still don't like all of that up-and-down movement. There has to be an in-between right? There must be a way for me to run the way I am comfortable (both physically and philosophically) and still be running "right", right?

For now, I am going to just keep putting in the work, trying to stay injury free, and let the form work itself out.

Am I a running Cliff Claven?

"Well ya see Nahmy...the Kenyans practically invented tempah trainin'. Ya know that's really why they run so fast. Some people say it's the bay-ah feet, but it's the tempah trainin'." Is that what I sound like when I talk about running? I know I have only been running for a few years and I'm not an exercise physiologist, but I have read a few books and many articles in the past few years. That combined with my personal (albeit limited) experience has led me to believe in a few running absolutes. The first of these is that everything I first thought I knew about running was absolutely wrong.

In my high school PE class, we ran a mile every day to this day I don't remember if my best was 5:30 or 6:30. I just remember that I ran with 2 little twin brothers who were on the cross country team. They were running easy but still the fastest in the class. I was 6'1" and about 135 pounds and even though I wasn't super active in high school, I had played soccer for years and was still pretty quick. Now, 20 years later with a best magic mile just under 7:00, I think it was 6:30 but I might still tell you 5:30.

Anyway, one of the track coaches told me I had a good stride. This was most likely not true. I had a long stride and an easy gait, but I was swinging my legs like I was on a NordicTrack, pushing off with my toes, and heel striking. Basically I had converted my marching band "glide step" to a running version. From a distance it probably did look good. I looked relaxed, my head was hardly moving up and down at all, and I was going relatively fast.

Jump forward 20 years. I have now somehow run a marathon. Then I start reading some things about form - some articles specifically about it and other blurbs here and there. Then I go to my favorite running store planning on replacing my shoes. We do the TM video thing and I talk about how I'm trying to land more on my midfoot (which I had been doing somewhat successfully for my last few runs). We hit he sidewalk outside for a little instruction from the staff and I realize that I was a clueless, mustacioed, Bostonian, postal worker sitting on a bar stool thinking I knew everything about running.

More iPhone Woes

I had a great run this morning - just how great I will never know thanks to the folks from RunKeeper. I am an Ubernerd so I am all about my pace. I read "Run Less, Run Faster" and bought into the science. I try to hit my target paces within a few seconds. Some days are better than others. Today was my first day of my FIRST training for my first 1/2 marathon. My target pace was 7:35. I did 12 400m intervals pretty damn close to that pace. I know they were actually more than 400m because I timed them on my watch to keep track of my splits which were all about 2:00 or an 8:00 pace (even though my body and my iPhone said it was more like 7:30). In fact I decided to kick a little on my last interval and put in a 7:01.

So what is the problem? Everything was fine when I finished my run. Most of my splits looked great with a couple of GPS farts that I have become used to. Skip forward a few hours and I'm trying to log my data on DailyMile and everything is all jumbled up. The first few splits are different (and slower) and then it flips so my recoveries were fast and my intervals were slow. Obviously it tried to "correct" itself for making my intervals too long by recalculating everything. I would father have it tell me how far/fast I actually went as opposed to how fast I would have gone if I was running around a track and ignoring the woman's voice saying "next interval".

The good news is, my average pace even with slow 90 sec recoveries was 8:51. My target race pace is 8:50. I guess that means I can alternate hauling ass and jogging for 13.1 and be right on my target pace!

Love/Hate

I love intervals. I hate intervals, but I love intervals. The same can be said for my iPhone. The two love/hate relationships collided today. The plan called for 5x800 at a 6:58 pace. As my wife will tell you, I don't like to deviate from the plan. She will also tell you I never plan for anything and have no sense of time. However running is clearly my exception. My last run was supposed to be 5 miles at 8:18. I did 8:19. I like to stick to the plan.

Today my first interval was too fast (as usual): 6:30 pace. The second one was going ok and I think my pace was pretty good. I have an app for that (and a fancy arm pouch for my phone since the first one didn't protect my first iPhone from my sweat). I tried to grab my phone and turn it on my arm so I could check my distance (something I do several times during each run) and suddenly I hear "Activity stopped". Shhhhiiiiit!!! I must have just hit the stop button. I fumble at my phone hoping I hit pause or that there is some kind of magical resume. Of course not. I am now walking and picking up my keys which fell to the ground when I opened up up my phone pouch. You see, normally the plastic front panel on the pouch makes it difficult to use the touch screen on the phone. Not today though! Not while I am hauling ass through downtown. I had no trouble hitting that stop button!

So now I reprogram my app to start on my next recovery and then do my last 3 800s. Of course this takes so long I really didn't need a recovery so now I am pissed that I am running a 1/4 mile that isn't on my plan. (I like to stick to the plan.) I finish my workout running the last 3 intervals averaging a 7:24 pace with not one of them under 7:20. I blame my phone.

It was still a beautiful day and a great run. I saw three baby swans during my warmup and went back to take some pictures after my run. I don't care how macho you are. Baby swans are, well, baby swans for cryin' out loud! They're the ugly duckling! (They were white and cute so the story is a hoax but still a good message).

I love intervals. I hate intervals, but I love intervals. The same can be said for my iPhone.