Sink or Swim

My wife recently signed our family up for a membership at the local YMCA. With no joining fee, a month-to-month contract and free childcare for our two kids, the time was right. I did, however, lose the excuse for not doing any sort of cross-training on my days off of running. A week or so later, having completed my run in the morning before work, we all went to the gym after dinner so I could check things out. After getting the tour from my wife, I wandered into the cycling room and was asked if I wanted to participate in the spin class that would be starting in a few minutes. Why not? I thought. I like to bike (I think -- I haven't been on one in the three years since both of my bikes were stolen), and how hard could it be?

 

The next 55 minutes of my life were much like my first running experience back in July 2008. Drenched in sweat and with my quad muscles on fire I made my way to the drinking fountain and then down the stairs to meet up with my wife and kids. Upon being asked how my class went, I decided it was awesome. So awesome, that I've been going back Monday and Wednesday mornings for the 5:15am class.

 

I don't know how far we ride during these classes, but I know how hard and how long it would take me to ride 20 miles as a teenager, which I would occasionally do on Saturday mornings during the summer. 
I feel good about the fact that I can knock out an hour ride without much trouble. Which sort of gets me thinking...what if I could swim?

 

A good number of my online running acquaintances have been transitioning from marathons to triathlons recently. My wife has suggested for months that I try it but I've never had much interest in doing so. There's a couple of local races throughout the summer that involve 500 meter swims, 12-15 mile bike rides and 5k runs. Please. I feel like I could walk out of my office, shirt and tie and all, and complete the cycling and running portion without much difficulty. The 500 meter swim though?

 

Here's the thing about me and swimming: I sink. My wife tells me lovingly that I'm just dense, which is probably true on many levels. I can swim in my grandma's pool. I play pool basketball, I can make my way back to a canoe when it tips over and I've even made it across the Deschutes River. Twice (though this ranks unquestionably as the worst idea my brother and I have ever had as it very easily could have ended in disaster). The YMCA offers private lessons and classes for adults who want to learn to swim better (or at all). I'm thinking of trying it. I have no intentions of being an Ironman (and $500+ for a race, really?). But then again, I didn't have any intentions of running a marathon before I ran my first 5k either. So...we'll see.

 

Ready for Red Rock after 21 miles of hills

It's also time to sink or swim at Red Rock. I completed my final 20-miler on Saturday (21 miles actually) and feel really good about where I am. I ran the same route two weeks ago and I finished 7 minutes faster this time. I've done all I can do to build and prepare for what I'll face in three weeks. I'm going to back of the number of hills I run until race day, probably just one day a week, and focus on some speed work, as the runs will be fairly short, comparatively. It's time to buckle down and focus on getting plenty of sleep, drinking lots of water, giving a little extra attention to what I'm eating and avoid, at all costs, stepping on any toys left out by my kids in bare feet. My dad suggested after my Saturday run that I not over think things. Good advice but hard to do.

20 miles is worse than 26.2

Occasionally someone will mention that they've seen me out running and ask if I'm training for something. When I tell them I run and train for marathons the conversation generally moves toward how awful or difficult or boring or impossible running 26.2 miles seems to them. What I can't explain to them is that the marathon is, in the words of Travis at Finally Airborne, a victory lap. A victory lap for all of the hard work, dedication, time management, commitment to nutrition and regular sleep and perseverance through dark, raining, cold mornings for months and months. A victory lap for completing something that is awful and difficult and boring and sometimes seems impossible: the 20-mile long runs.

In my experience, the 20-mile long run is far more difficult than a 26.2-mile race. For while the marathon requires an extra 45 minutes to an hour (at my pace) or more of running, here's what the 20-miler doesn't have: 

• Family & friends cheering you on along the way or waiting for you at the finish line
• Spectators cheering for those around you (but pretending they are cheering for you)
• Good Samaritans holding signs that read "We don't know each other, but I'm proud of you" at the point when you want nothing more than to quit but know you can't. And won't.
• Bands/cheerleaders, even bad bands and girls half my age wearing WAY too much makeup -- you know they'll be there and you're glad they are
• Little kids giving high-fives to everyone they can
• Moments that remind you how lucky you are
• Regularly spaced aid stations
• And if you train alone like I do, the camaraderie of others, spoken or unspoken, who are pushing themselves towards a similar goal
• A medal, T-shirt, medical staff and general overall pampering at the finish line
• The pride that goes along with walking (or limping if your prefer) around the rest of the day with your medal hanging around your neck for all to see

The 20-miler early on a Saturday morning is a lonely, grueling experience but it must be done. Multiple times. It's not fun. It's not glamorous. No one that sees you knows if you're in mile 2 or mile 18. But it's necessary. It's the run when your mental toughness is put to the test. 26.2 miles will be more physically demanding due to the number of miles, but if you can mentally will yourself through your 20-milers you'll be more than prepared for the physical challenge that awaits on race day.

I have my 2nd of three 20-milers coming tomorrow, and while I'm not looking forward to it, I will do it. Five more weeks and two 20-milers and I'll be ready to take my victory lap around Red Rock Canyon on March 5th. Can't wait.

I Gained Weight (Finally)...and why that's a good thing

So I've stepped away for a few months. Certainly not from running, but from writing and posting here for sure. There just hasn't been enough time in the day or week to justify sitting down and writing anything of any significance. The demands on my time became much lighter last week, however, when my assignment to teach an early morning religious studies class to a group of 21 high school juniors and seniors came to an end. For the last two and a half school years, I estimate that I spent approximately 20 hours per week (unpaid) in class teaching, or in lesson and class preparation or other activities.

 

I'm 5 1/2 weeks out from the Red Rock Canyon marathon outside of Las Vegas. Every review I've read of this race has had the same advice: be prepared for hills. So since November I've been running mile after mile and hour after hour of 3-7% grade hills. It's not hard to find them around my house. I've mentioned before that I live in a bowl. Any direction I want to go is up, so there's no escaping it. A few things have happened during these few months of training that I think are worth noting:

 

1. The average pace of my runs has dropped significantly. Rare is the day when I average less than 8 minutes/mile for a run. Just as rare is a mile run on a route even close to flat. This discouraged me for a few weeks until I started measuring progress in more applicable ways. For instance, there is a hill approximately four miles from my house. From the stop sign at the bottom to the stop sign at the top is .76 miles and it averages a 7% grade. I ran this hill once in preparation for the Seattle Rock n Roll marathon last year. It was awful. In November I ran it again and it took me approximately 9 minutes to get to the top. "9 minutes of Hell," I named it. Since November, "9 minutes of Hell"  has steadily become 8 minutes, and then 7:30, and then 7:12. And then last Saturday, an hour into my run, I scaled the beast in 6:58 (just got back from my 10-miler today...6:46 on the Hill from Hell! It's working...). Take that! So though my average pace is still consistently over 8 minutes/mile, but progress is being made.

2. Perhaps as a consequence of running so many hills, my weight has also increased over the last three months. Fairly significantly actually, but in a good way. I've experienced a 6% increase from what I've weighed since I was 15 years old. In a related story, my body fat percentage has dropped since I last checked it (late spring 2010) and is now below 6%. It's completely muscle growth in my legs. I can feel it as I run up hills that were once a struggle but now are just in my way. The amount of time I spend in front of a mirror each day is the time it takes me to brush my hair in the morning and brush my teeth a few times, but I did have one vain thought the other day when I walked by and caught a glimpse of myself in my Under Armour base layer pants. It was something along the lines of "Dang, who stole your skinny chicken legs that you've been walking around on for the last 28 years?"

 

While the increase in muscle has been nice for running hills and will no doubt serve me well in Las Vegas, I must admit that when I do occasionally run a flat mile or two, I feel the extra weight. And I don't like it. I feel heavy. Maybe I just need some time to let my lower joints adjust, but I wouldn't mind dropping back down to my previous weight prior to my relatively flat races in June and July.

 

3. I'm currently using Hal Higdon's 3-day/week program (minus the cross-training) and I really like it. I run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The extra day off on Monday really makes a big difference in how I feel the rest of the week. My wife also recently signed our family up for a YMCA membership, so I don't have any more excuses for not doing some cross training a few days a week. I'm eying the cycling class from 5:15-6:00am as a possible option as well as the morning lap swim (assuming of course, I learn how to swim properly. My current level of if-I-get-tossed-in-the-water-I-can-make-it-back-to-the-boat isn't conducive to lap swimming. So I'm told.)

 

Garmin Forerunner 205

Things are good though. I swapped out my Nike+ sportband for a Garmin Forerunner 205 (much, much improved). I've dealt off and on with a strained abdominal muscle but generally I feel pretty good. I'm ready to start peaking as I enter the final 5 weeks of training for 2011 Marathon #1. I have been thinking about a couple of things that I will comment on over the next few weeks. I do miss writing my thoughts and ideas and hope that now that I have some more time that I'll be able to update more regularly. It's a great time of year -- Spring Marathon training season is in full swing. Have a good run today!