Striders

Quick report today.  Slow opening with the first mile over 9 minutes.  Then, I hit a downhill and ran sub-8.  I finished the set of 6 miles in an average time of 49:32 (or approximately 8:15 per mile).  Then, I did six striders for 20 seconds each with 40 seconds of active rest between each.  They felt good but running at 85% sprint pace made me work very hard.  Striders are great for preparing for a race.  It was a good workout.  It made me focus.  They make me think about an expression my boss used today.  

My boss today, in a presentation, talked about a three word phrase--focus, finish, celebrate.  I would think that focus, finish, fun would have been better for aliteration.  

The key is that running takes focus.  Running well takes even more focus.  Racing well takes an incredible amount of focus.  

Finishing is what running is all about. Some say it is about the journey.  That is true, to a degree.  I have never expereinced a did not finish.  But I really do believe that the journey is not how I see things.  I often say taht the hardest workouts are the workouts that I cannot do.  That started back in 2010.  And I would say that every time I have to skip a worout for reasons that I cannot control, I feel a bit down.  So, for me finishing is key.  I need to make sure that finising is just as important in other areas of my life and not just in running.

Finally, when I finish I libe to celebrate or have fun.  Part of celebrating is encouraging others.  Part of celebrating is sometimes claiming a medal.  Part of celebrating is just resting and realizing that I have finished.

I ran 6.6 miles this morning and have now reached 810.5.  That puts me in Marine, IL, at the corner of Pocahontas Rd & Duncan St.  The Catholic church in town is St. Elizabeth's.  Not far from where I am now.  

A Sunday Out and Back in Easter Season Makes Me Think Of...

Today, I ran an out and back--sort of.  I drove to meet one of my running friends who ran her first Boston Marathon this year whom I had not seen in person since she ran Boston.  We met at "the corner" (33rd and Greenmount) and ran the Old Baltimore 10 Miler course.  It is definitely an out and back type of course from the zoo to Lake Montebello, around the Lake, and back again.  In this case, we went to the zoo, the back to more or less where we started, then to Montebello, and then back to the start.  So it was actually out and back in two different directions.  And I really dislike out and back courses at this point.  But I am happier to do them when I am with the good company of a fellow runner.  And I am even happier to do them on a course that I have raced before (this one) or plan to race again this year (not this one--I decided I don't like the heat in June for racing that far).

In any case, when I think of running out and back during Easter season in the church, the reading from two weeks ago comes to me. That is the reading along the road to Emmaus.  I have written about Emmaus before.  It is an easy story to think of and one that can have lots of meanings. It is also something that was read at the last wedding I attended in Septmeber 2012.  And it was a wedding of two runners.  And it mentions 7 miles and teh two on the road to Emmaus running back to Jerusalem.  A distance of 7 miles.  A little longer than a half marathon.  A good bit longer than what I ran today.  But definitely something that I think of when I run any out and back.  What do I find when I get there?  How does what I find represent God's goodness and grace revealed to me?  And how much do I want to share it when I get back?

In my case, I am always big on sharing through my blog.  The key question is whether there was any evidence of God's goodness and grace today.  Of course there was.  The bright sun.  The reflection on Lake Montebello.  The good friendship that led to conversation most of the time.  The healthy pace.  The taking of hills.  The running of the lake clockwise--which I have never done before and seeing it all in a new way going to "wrong" direction.  I shared it with my running partner this morning.  I am sharing it with others now.  The out and back also brought us into interaction with other runners.  In fact, one of them was on the track with the large group last Wednesday when I ran.  And the first time I met him was about three years ago in the same season preparing for the Baltimore 10 Miler in 2011 when I was running the course to get a feel for it and he and another runner who were pacing the race were there at the same time.  Apparenetly some patterns never change.  And that is one part of the beauty of the life of a runner. The seasonality of so many things.  The return.  The ability to take a second look and see what may be different.  

And the story of Emmaus goes along somewhat with the theme that Father Sam talked about at 5:30 mass at St. Pius X today.  He focused on setting aside the earthly trappings of success.  White garments without gold.  His uneasiness with the stained glas window with our church's patron showing him with a mace (a sign of worldly power) rather than a cross.  Certainly, my friend this morning and I having both qualified for and run Boston have an eye toward earthly measures of running success.  But each of us also sees running as part of a larger framework of health and wellness and achievement and goal setting in our lives and in the lives of other runners around us.

He also talked about radical change.  While he did not talk about that with respect to Emmaus a few weeks back, it certainly was a radical and life changing experience for the two walkers-turned runners in the Bible.  And running has definitely brought about a radical transformation in my life.  (Friends, activities, blogging, self-image, story telling, etc.)  It is something that can bring about radical transformations for so many.  Some just see running as a chore to stay fit.  For me, it is part of the radical change that all began with running my first marathon and getting number 1313.  

Incidentally, with the 10.4 miles today, I ran 39 this week and am now at 803.9 two days short of 20 weeks into the year.  Thus, I am very much on pace to hit the half way to 2000 mile mark early.  My current position is on Pocahontas Rd in Highlands, IL, a bit north of I-70, and a near a stream that leads to the north end of the Old City Reservoir.   

A Weak of Meaning & Tips on Preparing for a Marathon

I blogged last on Sunday of last week.  That was my most recent planned rest day, although not my most recent rest day in fact.  Today, I'll provide an update since then and use this as an opportunity to describe what I think is useful for preparing for a first marathon.  A friend shared with me yesterday that she wants to try to run the full marathon at the Baltimore Running Festival this year.  That is an awesome goal.  So, in the context of talking about this week, this will also reflect my philosophy.

My workouts this week included an easy six around the extended neighborhood on Monday.  An unplanned day off on Tuesday because there were just too many other things to do.  Ten miles on the track on Wednesday.  An easy 5.9 with a friend on Thursday. And a progress that was supposed to be 7 but turned out to be 6.7 on Friday.  Today was a planned day off.  While it was tempting to move Friday's workout to today (as I had moved each of Tuesday-Thursday one day forward after missing Tuesday), I was advised to take the day of rest.  I'm either experienging a cold or my first spring allergies and I am aiming for my fastest 5K in 27 years next Sunday.  Rest is my friend at this point.  My total mileage is now 793.5.  It puts me just outside Pocahontas, IL, still on US Route 40.

Having said that, it does feel weird to sleep till 6 on a Saturday.  And for me that is sleeping in as I have a child to get to a lacrosse game at 8:30 (the game is at 9).

So, let me talk about my philosphy of training for a marathon, especially a first, in the context of my Wednesday long track workout.  The workout consisted of 8 laps of warmup (~2 miles), 8x800 all around around 3:00 (fastest was 2:53, slowest was 3:02, and 5 of the remaining six were less than one second off 3:00).  Then nine laps cool down.  The fact tthat I was able to get eight in a row at a target pace led me to think about what I might write about as eight principles of running. As the week moved on, I thought abou how to relate Thursday's and Friday's runs to those principles.  And then, when my friend asked me for advice, I thought that I coudl tie this all together.    

So, from my workout on Wednesday here are eight principles of running, of life, and of preparing for a first marathon.

I: Have a plan.  There are tons of places to get plans these days.  There are plans on the web.  There are plans in books. There are training groups that have plans.  For those who hang out in circles of runners, there is very likely to be a friend who has a plan that can be recycled.  And for those with enough resources, people can be paid to develop plans for individuals.  The key is that there needs to be a plan.  And the plan has to be followed.  Plans help to ensure two things.  Plans help to ensure that a runner has built up to the distance.  And plans help to ensure that that build up occurs safely.  Injury avoidance is the key to marathon completion.  I ran a 3:02.

II: Life happens.  Despite having a plan, and depsite having a lot of passionate runners in my circle of friends, no one I know is a professional runner.  As such, there will be a need for flexibility.  When the plan changes sometimes it means that workouts can be swapped.  Sometimes it means that workout will be shifted.  Sometimes it means that workouts will be missed.  But the key is to remember that there will be a need for change.  A need for flexibility.  A need for accepting that things will need to be adjusted.  All can be good.  The key is to accept.  This reminds me a lot of what happened at the Y on Friday when I just had to accept that I needed to stop at 6.7 and missing 0.3 miles was not the end of the world.  I ran a 2:53.

III: Don't try to do it alone.  We need to work with others.  It is very hard to prepare for a marathon alone.  We need people to run with.  (Thursday's run was an excellent outing with a person who has taught me a lot about running, who has become a dear friend, and who was my last MPH advisee--great way to have a meeting.)  We need people who understand what it is like to have a big goal.  We need people to encourage us along the way in a whole variety of ways.  I ran a 3:00.

IV: Cooperate with others.  There are a number of ways that I think about this one.  I think about it in terms of making sure that my spouse at least tolerates what I do.  It would be better if my spouse truly supported what I do?  Does my spouse have to love running?  No. But understanding having a big goal.  Understanding early to bed and early to rise.  Understanding the level of commitment.  And understanding the feeling of accomplishment would be great.  It also means when on workouts cooperating with others.  Over the years, I have seen runners not be cooperative on the trail.  And last Wednesday when there was a large group on the track at the time I did my workout, they were very conscientious of every time I ran past.  Ones who were looking warned those who weren't with the usual "TRACK!" or "Lane one!"  There are so many ways that cooperation is important.  I ran a 2:59.

V: Go big or go home.  Running a marathon is a big deal.  Whether it is a first or a sixth (my next one if I run another), it is always a BIG deal.  So, it is important to realize that this is something that you have to be "all in" for.  If a person training for a marathon is not "all in," the risk of injury or having a marathon day that ends with DNF (did not finish) goes up.  I recall when I first came on the job that I have now held for a little over a year and shared my tattoo with my direct reports.  Their reaction was that it showed my personality that they had already picked up quite well.  The fact that my first was an elaborate tattoo on the outside of my entire right calf suggested to my colleagues that I was a "go big or go home" type.  I ran a 2:58.

VI: Be optimistic.   I don't think I have ever met a pessimistic marathon runner.  I'm not sure I've ever met a pessimistic runner in general.  Running is someting that is always about moving forward.  Moving ahead.  Taking the next step.  Never taking steps backward. Coaches tell runners again and again not to look back.  Perhaps those who come to running are optimistic.  Perhaps those who stay in running become optimistic. But in my circle of running friends, I would have to say that just about everyone is optimistic.  I ran a 2:59.

VII: Make it a part of something bigger.  Running is important.  But I already mentioned earlier that neither I nor any of my friends are professional runners.  But I and many of my friends take our running very seriously.  (Some would say too seroiusly.)  But still, I put my running in a larger context.  I run because it is part of searching for meaning.  I run because it has helped me find friends.  I run because it has become a social act.  I run because it helps me achieve something right away each time I run, and I love the feeling of accomplishment.  And yet, I have the opportunity to see things in a long-term context.  I ran a 3:00

VIII: We become what we decide.  This is not the exact quote that was shared with the eight grade group at the Waldorf School of Baltimore from which my second son will graduate in a few weeks.  But the quote is close.  And it got me thinking.  We make decisiosn all the time.  Each decision shapes me.  Each decision shapes my future.  Yes, there are things that I canot control and that will happen regardless of the decisions that I make.  But ultimately, I am pretty much responsible for what I do with the situation.  And marathon running is about making a decision to stick with it despite the ups and downs that are inevitable.  Despite the mental toughness that is required.  Despite the hurt that is inevitable somewhere along the way in the 22.s miles.  I ran a 3:00.

So, there is my philosophy of how to train for a marathon.  Not a bad philosophy of life in general.

A Crazy Week

Despite my best efforts, I was not able to blog after each run this week.  I did begin to make a little progress on straightening at home.  I did get some extra sleep and my attention span is the better for it.  And I did have some struggles with my running.

As reported at my last entry, I had some shin pain on Sunday of last week.  And it got more noticeable as I left for a flight.  And it was most of the way better after the flight.

But I rested on Monday.  And I rested on Tuesday.  Two days in a row is a lot for me.  Wednesday I came back with an easy 5.  It went well.  I noticed a little soreness and tightness in my shin (and in my entire body after that long a rest) but I felt good.  Lesson of the day: take it easy when you come back to something.  There is no need to rush.

Thursday came and instead of doing the (by now) standard progression run, I did 7x800 with each being 3:01 or better.  Another track workout basically alone although there were a few people putting in laps, the walker who is almost always there, and two women who appeared to be running partner 800's.  That was a great workout for me.  Lesson: stability.  Hitting 800 after 800 with times from 2:57-3:01 was a great workout.  Stability in running is a good thing.  Stability in life is a good thing.

Friday--hills.  Except this time instead of running hill repeats, I decided to run the hilliest course I could think of for five miles near home.  Why did I not want to do hill repeats?  Simple--after 36 laps on the track the day before, the idea of repeats seemed to be a problem for my mind.  And I feared that I would run them too hard as I was frustrated about something not running related in my life.  So, I did a workout in which I kept my mile paces as near to 8:30 as I could using the natural hills of north Baltimore.  Lesson: sometimes even for a strenuous activity it is critical to relax first.  

Saturday--14 miles with no unusual feeling in my shin.  A week of patience and self-massage on the muscle at my shin had paid off.  The run was done in an average of just under 8:29.  I had a slow first mile.  A faster second.  Then settled in.  Rather than an out and back or a loop from the house, I did a "circle" (sort of) in which I was never more than 3 miles from home.  Probably even less as the crow flies.  Just made it easier to back out if I needed to at any point.  Lesson: caution can help avoid much bigger problems.

So, where am I on my question for 2000 miles?  Still, ahead of the game.  As I rest today, I am two days from the end of week 19 of the year.  And I am already at 764.9 miles.  That is pretty cool.  I am back on US Route 40.  (It goes quite a bit of the way I am going.)  I would have run through Teutopolis, Effingham, Altamont, St Elmo, and Brownstown on the way to where US 40 and I-70 meet in Otego, IL.  

I decided to look up St. Elmo.  There was a movie about St. Elmo's Fire in the 1980's.  I think of the Elmo character on Sesame Street.  But I had never bothered to look up St. Elmo. So, there appear to be numerous interpretations of who St. Elmo might actually have been (no one actually named St. Elmo but several who were referred to as Elmo among other things.)  The most likely one looks like Erasmus of Formia. Another martyr who died around 303.  He is the patron saint of sailors and abdominal pain.  Quite an interesting mix.  And interesting how many of the saints were martyrs.   

5K Race Report and Then Some

It has been several days since I have written.  And those days have been quite interesting. 

Let us begin with the 5K on Saturday.  It was a 5K to benefit the ALS center at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  I’ve personally known one person with ALS.  It was a devastating condition to observe.  Although the person who had it went down fighting all the way.  A friend invited me to run with his team—honoring his father who is still alive and looking pretty good.  He had a huge team.

I arrived an hour before the race.  Met some of the rest of the team.  Caught up with several other runners I know.  Participated in the group shot and went for a one mile or so warm-up around 7:45. 

The race began a few minutes after the targeted start of 8:00.  I was near the front but not in the front row.  Got off to a quick start running south away from the Power Plant Live and toward Pratt Street.  Left on Pratt.  Jostled around a bit turning from Pratt onto President.  At that corner I was trying to move between two runners.  They closed in.  Not intentionally to block me, and I didn’t see either one of them the rest of the race as far as I know.  I was frustrated and almost expressed it verbally.  But I have to remind myself that while I have some goal times, I am ultimately out there for fun.  I kept quiet, pushed ahead, and continued down President Street.  While I had gone out what felt a little fast, I had settled into a reasonable pace.  At the end of President Street I hit the traffic circle and then headed down to Lancaster.  As we continued along my watch beeped, then I got to the one mile marker.  I hit lap. I heard the person by the sign shout 6:20.  When I got home I had 6:21.  So far, so good.  Fast, but not too fast. 

I continued along.  From this point on there were only a few shifts in place.  As we approached the turn around point there was a water station.  The people attending the water station had put out lots of cups but were just standing there.  Skipped the water.  Passed a teenage kid as I neared the turn around.  Got to the two mile mark.  Person shouted 12:50.  That seemed slower than where I thought I was.  My watch had again beeped before the second mile marker.  I hit the lap.  Checked it when I got home—second 6:21.  Solid and on pace. 

I continued back toward Power Plant Live.  Not sure where I would hit mile 3.  Was passed by one guy who just pushed quite a bit ahead.  But otherwise, kept going.  Nearly caught a guy as I came to the mile 3 mark and headed turned back onto Lombard.  Got my third mile time.  Checked when I got home 6:18. 

Had nothing left for the last 0.1  Ran it in 0:44.

Life was good.  A 19:44.  What was interesting was the fact that my times were so consistent.  And the fact that the person nearest ahead of me was about 7 seconds ahead and the person behind was about 19 seconds back.  I did not think that with 1500 people in the race I would be so far away from people on both sides.

I ran Sunday and I did 13 starting very early.  I enjoyed it but had some shin issues starting at mile 6.  Hobbled a bit.  But was cleared after I flew to give a presentation on Sunday.  Have rested since then.  Will test it out tomorrow morning. 

The Boston jacket led me to an interesting conversation on Sunday at the airport on the way home from giving a presentation about low vision and economics.  Talked with a guy from Cincinnati who has run 102 marathons.  60 years old.  Coaches the marathon training group at a running store in Cincinnati.  Did Boston this year. 

The total distance at this point is 731.9 miles.   That puts me in Teutopolis, IL on E1400th Ave.  Continuing on.  Even with 2 days off, I am still 10 miles ahead of 40 miles per week.  Life is good.  I count my blessings.

Counting Blessings

Yesterday morning I did my local hill workout.  4 times up the hill on Overbrook between Regester (although it goes down a bit and the real uphill starts at Arran) and Sherwood.  Total 6.3 miles.  Total for the year 713.9 miles.  Puts me on E 1750th Ave (or E County Highway 6) in Newton, IL.  When I run the hill there I cross St Albans Rd multiple times.  St Alban was the first English Christian martyr.  Interesting.  I had never looked up the history before yesterday.

Blessings:

(1) The ability to run.  Just heard an NPR story about someone who was able to come back to running after a new form of treatment was developed for his condition.  I take it for granted.

(2) Running hills in an interesting area.

(3) Running hills at a pace that is meaningful (which I did yesterday) rather than all out (which is closer to what I did last week).  Better workout yesterday.

(4) Getting to see younger boys at their school's celebration of May Day.  Nice ceremony yesterday. 

(5) Getting to hang with other parents during the May Day celebration yesterday.

(6) The fact that my kids have four living grandparents--three of whom we saw yesterday.

(7) Ability to get some work done.  I find fulfillment.

(8) Final high school level orchestral concert for my oldest and his girlfriend of 3+ years yesterday.  Great concert.  I stayed awake the whole time--I've done that two weeks in a row now!

(9) Very nice dinner after the concert--sharing with my family and the girlfriend who has really become a part of the family.  Introduced her to Turkish food.

(10) The chance to help a friend in need after the dinner with a ride home he needed.  I'm lucky I have a car.  I'm lucky we had gas.  I'm lucky I wasn't already sleeping (as I often am at that time on Friday nights.)  I'm lucky to be able to help.  I hope that if I ever needed similar help some day my friends would do the same.  

Never Lose Sight of a Dream

So this morning’s run was my by now typical 7 mile progression run on Thursday mornings.  I felt it more than last week.  Cruised through miles 1-3.  Then really felt is as my body was asked to run 6:45/6:30/6:15.  Still, after a massage yesterday (where the muscles are worked on, obviously) and shop-vaccing last night and a challenging track workout on Tuesday, I didn’t think it was a bad thing.  In any case, when I went to Giant afterwards, I made it a point to say hello to more employees than I do on many mornings.  Just last night I had discussed the idea of doing that regularly with the woman who cuts my hair.  And so, having mentioned it, I thought it would be important to actually walk the walk and not just talk the talk.  I often say hello anyway, but I don’t always do it when the employee doesn’t say hello.  I took the initiative this morning. 

My 7 miles puts me at 707.6.  26 miles on the week already.  And somewhere on 1850^th Ave either just outside or inside Yale, IL.  Interesting names of streets continue.  My virtual pilgrimage continues.  The official town population here is 85.  I’d be adding more than 1% to the population just by passing through. 

So what is the lesson from today?  As I mentioned to the person who helped me develop my training plan, one lesson is that I am, after all, only human.  Not every run is going to come easy.  Not every run is going to be care free.  Some runs are going to be tough.  I added that I am a recreational runner (something she said about herself a week ago).  She commented that when I put it that way it sounds ery deflating.  I answered that I don’t find it deflating at all.  If you told me I was just a “jogger,” I might feel deflated.  But recreational running is not a problem.  It simply means I do it for recreational purposes.  Not that I don’t take it seriously and set some very serious goals.  Those are not mutually exclusive ideas. 

I also thought some this morning about the email that I sent yesterday to a colleague back in the Bloomberg School of Public Health.  I saw the announcement for his Dean’s Lecture next week (a tradition for when people get promoted to full professor) and was thrilled to see one of my colleagues talking about teaching.  It is a great thing for people in academia to discuss.  Where I spent the first nearly 17 years of my career it was important but rarely the main focus.  When I was told after my Dean’s Lecture that I was one of the first (perhaps the first) to talk about teaching, I was quite surprised.  So, to see someone else, even if I cannot make the presentation, was quite nice.

Sending the email to him also reminded me of an exchange I had with my mother when I was a teenager.  I recall saying to her, “Why would anyone want to teach?”  That was after she had gone to college to be a teacher.  She had sacrificed by taking a job at a bank when I was first born to help support our family while my dad went to college after getting out of the Air Force.  She sacrificed her career while being a stay at home parent for years when my sister was born when I was 5½.  Then, finally, she got back into it when I was a teen.  But I couldn’t see why it was so great.  Now, it is what drives my career.  My teaching.  Monitoring and helping to improve others; teaching.  I even mentioned it to my colleague in the email I sent and he was pleasantly surprised by the email—especially what I was willing to share.

I saw something today asking how your mother inspires your running.  Well, my mom was never a runner.  But this relates.  Why?  Because she came back to a dream after a long time and made the most of it.  I didn’t make a sacrifice for my dream.  I just spent time pursuing different dreams.  Academic success.  Parenthood.  Professional success.  Maybe my mom would say that helping to support a family and being a stay at home parent was not such a sacrifice either.  The key is coming back to a dream.  I came back to running after 18½ years (almost nothing from May 1987 through January 2006).  When I returned there were fits and starts.  But now, I am making the most of it.  Never lose sight of a dream.  It can change your life if you just have the faith to follow it.