JJSB Rundate 15117: Weeks 8 & 9, Steady Improvement and Counter Intuitiveness

The days slipped away from me a little bit and so I missed a week of posting.  So, here I'm recapping weeks 8 & 9.

  If you've read my last couple of posts, then you know that I was in somewhat of an extended runnner's slump, culminating with a horrible (at least horrible feeling) 9 mile run.  Luckily, after my Sunday & Monday break between runs, things began to get better.  I had a 3 mile Tuesday run (4/14) which felt decent and then I had a 5 mile pace run the next day which went very well.  I was a little worried about it but I just got out there and started off at a fairly quick pace and had no problems.  I was very encouraged because I didn't have to force myself to get out and get started.  That feeling of having to force myself was getting pretty old. The week then ended with a Saturday (4/18) long run of 10 miles and it was much easier that the previous Saturday 9 mile run.  It was just what I needed.  I ran the first half or so in fairly steady rainfall, but I really don't mind the rain like some people do.  I commented to my wife afterwards that I can't remember ever having a bad run while running in the rain.  It always keeps your body nice and cool so you don't get overheated.  It's also very surreal running in the rain.  Your senses are telling you that your not supposed to be out running in the rain so it feels a little like you're living an adventure.
Week 9 continued much the same.  The weather was nice and cool and I didn't feel like I was forcing myself to get out and run.  This week was a step back week, which means that the long run mileage was lower than the previous two weeks.  The Saturday (4/25) long run was a 10k distance and I made pretty good time without feeling like I was pushing myself.  My pace was 8:41 per mile and afterwards, I looked back through all of my runs and this is a personal record for me for the 10k distance.  This is very encouraging as I always run a somewhat hilly course and I could have done it faster if I had paced it a bit better and pushed a little harder.  Still, I'm very happy with it as it shows that I'm continuing to steadily lower my average pace per mile.  You can see from my mile splits that I ran the 6th mile at a pace below 8min/mile and this is what I want to see:  Starting out at a pace and then gradually increasing throughout the run.

So, as I come down to the final few weeks of this training plan, I wanted to talk about the counter intuitiveness of long distance running.  Natural thinking tells you that if you want to run a race with the fastest time possible, that you will run as fast and as hard as you can at the beginning.  This is common sense thinking as you don't want to "waste" time and energy at the beginning of a race and then not be able to catch up.
But, in reality, it's important to begin more slowly than you intend to finish.  It doesn't make sense to the mind that if you start out at a slower pace, you will end up finishing sooner than if you start out at a faster pace.  For some reason, when you start out at a slower pace and then slowly increase your speed over the miles, you will end up finishing more quickly because you will have more energy reserves at the end of the race.  Most of the time, the pace increase will come naturally.  Your body will feel like it's going the same pace, yet it will be gradually moving faster.  I'm sure there are clear scientific explanations why this is the case if you care to research the subject.  As for me, I love counter intuitive things like this so I choose not to put too much thought into the whys and hows and just accept it.  Remember, start at a fairly slow, comfortable pace and you will get faster over the course of the run,

Ok, time for the "Song of the Run"

Way back in 1992 this album came out and I remember it distinctly because I had just graduated from college and was looking for a job.  I remember driving around in my care, listening to a cassette that I recorded from the CD.  There were no CD players in cars in those days.  At any rate, I remember the first time I put this CD into the player and the first song came on.  I still love it to this day.  Enjoy!

"Someone finally told me
That you'd wasted eight of your nine lives
Oh, give yourself a break before you break down
You're gonna need someone on your side

And here I am, and here I am
Well, you don't need to look so pleased."

                                     Morrissey  "You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side"

JJSB Rundate 15107: Week 7: The Slump Continues and More Running = Less Sickness

Well, If you read last week's post, then you know I was in a runner's slump.  That was week 7 of my training plan and the long run for that week was a 9 mile run last Saturday.  Well, it was pretty miserable.  I didn't feel good at all that week and it seemed to be the worst on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I didn't feel horribly sick or anything.  Just a little off.  I'm not sure if it was allergies or what, but I was extremely nauseous for most of that 9 mile run.  I ended up averaging 10:00 minutes/mile which is about 30 seconds more than I had wanted.  And, I was just totally spent after I finished.  Some of it might have had to do with the slightly warmer temps but it wasn't warm enough for it to have made that much of a difference.  It was one of the worst running experiences that I've ever had and I've had several pretty bad ones.  Afterwards, I was so disappointed that I was nearly ready to quit running.  At least for a while.  I was so discouraged.  I also spent my entire Sunday not feeling quite right.  I'm not sure what's going on but I hope it lifts soon.  Maybe I have some type of little virus or something.
Through all this (and still) the main thing that has kept me going is that I have been posting every week throughout this training and thinking about how it would look to the few people who read this blog if I quit now.  How would it affect the people who are encouraged and motivated by what I'm doing.  I can't let myself down or all of you who are watching.  This is good, because this is one of the reasons that I do this blog.  So, thank you to those of you who follow this blog or even check in every so often and show your support.  I truly appreciate it.

One of the things that I've thought about while going through this past weekend and not feeling very well, is the health benefits that I've gained while running.  I realize that this varies greatly from person to person, so I know that my experience won't be guaranteed for anyone else, but I have definitely had better overall health since I started running regularly.  I rarely get colds or the flu and when I do, it's usually a milder version (at least symptom wise) than I see those around me experiencing.  I'm not sure why this is.  Maybe something to do with better circulation, breathing capacity, etc.???  Like I said, I'm not sure why, but the difference has been quite noticeable.  Another benefit has been with allergies.  My allergy symptoms have been greatly reduced while I've been running.  I see the noticeable effects of running on the clarity of my breathing.  Running helps clear the sinuses so I don't experience nearly the amount of congestion that I used to.
Anyway, better overall health is another benefit I've found from running.

Okay, so it's time for the "Song of the Run"

This is my favorite band over the past decade.  I love every single one of their songs.

"We've got crosses on our eyes
Been walking into the walls again
We've got crosses on our eyes
Been walking into the furniture
We've got crosses on our eyes
For richer, for poorer, for better, for worse
We've got crosses on our eyes
We've been walking into the furniture"

                                                      "Eating Glass" by Bloc Party

JJSB Rundate 15099: Training Week 6, The slumps will come...

So, I'm currently in the 7th week of this training plan which means that I've completed 6 weeks and am half way through.  The past week and a half has been a bit rough as I have been uninspired about pretty much everything in life, including running.  In most of the training plans that I follow, there are "step back" weeks, in which the mileage for the long run is decreased from the previous few weeks.  This past week was a major step back week.  The long run was only 3.1 miles (5k) and I looked forward to it throughout the week, expecting to blow it away.  But when I got to Saturday, I was feeling so blah and lacking so much energy that I had to force myself just to get out to run.  My time wasn't horrible by any means (average pace of 8:49 min/mile) but I have done much faster and it was just a let down overall.  I've done two runs since then and they have both been total chores.  I almost didn't even do the Thursday night 5 mile run because I just wasn't feeling it at all.
At any rate, hopefully the rest of the week will be better, culminating with a satisfying 9 mile run this coming Saturday.

If you've followed this blog recently, then you know I've been posting regarding how I got started running and things I've learned throughout the years.  This week, appropriately, I wanted to talk about the running slumps that can and will come to every runner.  There are so many things that can cause them: Lack of quality sleep, poor nutrition/hydration, changes in outside temperatures, allergy issues, other activities that compete for time and energy, etc.  The important thing to know is that they will come.  They will.  I know that it's important in long distance running to keep going no matter what.  That's a lot of what it comes down to.  And when you are in a slump, this axiom is more important than ever to remember.  

But, although you have to stick with it and keep going, you don't have to do it in the same way.  If you are feeling sluggish, the most important thing is to get out there and start.  Starting is always the hardest part.  And once you get out there and start, if you still feel the energy depleting slump just owning you, then don't be afraid (or to proud) to slow it down a little.  It's okay to have off days, or even a string of them, in which you slow your pace considerably.  The important thing is to complete the run.   I't even okay to take walk breaks if you feel like you need one.  Surprisingly, walk breaks sometimes actually improve your overall pace for the run.  Especially on long runs.  

So, I guess what I'm saying is that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself.  You will go through valleys and peaks just like with anything else in life.  Sure, sometimes you have to push yourself a little when you're feeling sluggish, but don't become to obsessed about making a certain pace or failing to do so.  Just persevere and you will eventually (probably sooner rather than later) leave that slump behind.

So, that's it for this entry.  

Well, except of course, for the "Song of the Run".

One of my favorite bands of the past decade is Arcade Fire and in 2010, they released a spectacular album called The Suburbs.    There are a bunch of great songs on this one so I encourage you to check it out when you get a chance.

For now, here is "Empty Room"

"When I'm by myself

I can be myself

When my life is calm

But I don't know when"

             "Empty Room"  Arcade Fire

JJSB Rundate 15090: Training Week 5, Solitude & Persevering Through Pain

Well, here I am in week #6 of training with the days getting warmer and the trees budding.  Saturday, I completed Week #5 and all went well although some of the weather was a bit cool.  I got hailed on during my first 3 mile run of the week, which is a first.  I got rained on plenty as well, although I don't really mind that as much as some people do.  It creates a surreal feeling and makes me feel sort of like I'm going to another world.  Anyway, the running for the week was good and I'm experiencing much less muscle soreness after runs.  My long run was supposed to be 8 miles, but I ended up hitting 8 miles a little farther away from home than I had intended, so I kept going and did around 8.5 miles or so to get back to my neighborhood.  Even so, I was feeling really good.  No heel pain and little fatigue.  I feel like I really paced myself well.  In fact, I was looking at the mile split times afterwards and this is exactly the kind of long run that I love because I'm whittling down the pace.  This is how I want my long runs to look pace wise:

So, during this 12 week training program, I've been reviewing how I got started running and what I've learned through the past few years.  There were a number of things that occurred to me to write about this week, but I decided on a couple.

First, I wanted to talk a little about the solitude of long distance running.  I guess there are people who run with other folks, but for me, it's a very meditative and solitudinous activity.  Sometime around or after my first 10 mile run, I began to really feel the meditative power of running.  It's like entering an altered state where your mind and body are completely in "the now" but it also feels as though you have entered into another dimension, away from all the trouble and baggage of life.  At least that's what it feels like to me.  This has become one of the main reasons that I continue to run.

Second, something else occurred to me as I was running this past week.  The thought was a result of my current general state of mind.  I have not been very happy.  I have wanted to be.  I'm trying to be.  But it just is not so right now.  (That's another longer story, the details of which belong in other blogs).  So, while I was running, I was thinking back to a time when I got my first pair of decent running shoes.  I had been running in some New Balance cross training shoes which were fine, but had been around for a while.  So, I went to the Running Well Store and did the whole running on the treadmill routine to check my gate.  I ended up getting some Brooks Adrenaline and wore them a few days to break them in.  I then went on a 12 mile run in them which was a bit long for a first run in a new pair of shoes.  About 2 miles in, I began to feel like something was in my shoe, poking the inside of my left foot.  It felt like a little sharp piece of wood.  I continued to run.  The sharp, poking pain continued to grow.  I continued to run.  Eventually, the pain increased to the point during which I felt it pretty intensely with each step.  Still, I ran.  After I finished, I checked inside my shoe and found a huge blister on the side of my left foot.  It was about the size of a half dollar.
This was my first experience with something that I would encounter many times in my future running:  Running through the pain.  Persevering until the journey is complete.  As I thought about this on one of my recent runs, it reminded me of how life is sometimes like that and running is a lesson.  Sometimes there is hurt.  A deep wound.  Pain.  But, you have to keep on running.  You have to keep on persevering; Stubbornly refusing to give up or give in to the pain and let it dictate when you end your journey.  That's one of the things that I think about during difficult periods of my life:  I can make it through.  If I can run through the pain and just somehow keep going, I can make it through the pain the comes in life.  I can somehow keep going.

And, on that uplifting note (sarcasm, Sheldon) that's it for this entry. 

Oh, don't worry, I didn't forget the "Song of the Run"

For some reason, out of the thousands of songs on my phone, this one has come on a few times lately during runs.  It's by Longwave which is really a find band, although a bit "produced" and "poppy" compared to the music that I typically like.  They just have a lot of songs that I enjoy.  Very well written songs that hit those melancholy  heart strings. They remind a little of Death Cab For Cutie but a little more "rocky".   At any rate...

I'm posting the album version and a beautiful little in studio acoustic version which I came across.  You're choice.  :)

"Sirens in the Deep Sea" - by Longwave:

"I've been trying to reach you, oh

I've been trying to get through, oh

It's so hard to let you know

I've been trying, yes it's true, oh"

Album version

In studio acoustic version with ukulele!