Sunday, January 27, 2013

Riddle Run 2013 Report

Yesterday was the 14th running of the Riddle Run Fat Ass event. And it was my 14th finish. I ran the new 50-mile event that started at midnight (the regular 28-mile event started at 8am). I'm happy to report that I was the fastest 50-mile finisher (4 starters, 3 finishers). I finished 50 miles on the dark and cold trails in a time of 9:49. Not too bad!

I'm very happy with this run. It served several purposes: extra long run, all-night run, and test run for some new products. I am training for the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run (April 6, 2013) and I needed to get in an extra long run as part of my build-up. I have plenty of opportunities to knock off 20-mile training runs, but few chances to do a 50 mile run with friends. This informal fat ass event was a perfect opportunity...except the event is typically a 28-mile run. I asked the race director to add a 50-mile option...and he did! So, my mind started weaving odd scenarios of what would be possible...and I settled on a midnight start. Jeff, the race race director, agreed and said he'd come out at midnight to "see us off"--then go home to sleep and eventually return to start the 8am folks. Works for me!

I arrived at the small trail parking lots at 11:55pm and no other cars were there. Would I be the solo midnight runner? Nope. Within minutes, Gregg, Matt, and Dan joined me as 50-mile entrants. And Jeff carried through on his promise to start the event. At 12:02am we headed down the trail. My plan was coming together--an extra long training run combined with an all-night run. Doesn't get much better than this--four friends running at midnight and not planning to stop until we reached 50 miles. The weather was cold (20 to start with temperatures falling through the night) and the NW wind delivered a nasty bite. I was bundled up pretty well and only my hands and face got cold. The four of us ran together for about 16 miles, then we separated into our own paces...except Matt and I stayed side by side for the first 28 miles. At that point, we had completed the regular Riddle Run distance and it wasn't even 6am. Matt started walking more at that point, so I continued my run-walk strategy and kept plugging along for the next 22 miles. It was nice seeing other runners around 7am, then a flood of runners at 8am. I never felt really tired, so the sunrise didn't lift my spirits as anticipated. But it was a nice change to actually see the trail I was running on, otherwise, it was the same old "one foot in front of the other" for another couple hours. Finally, a few minutes before 10am, I finished my 50 miles. It was great to be done. I celebrated by hanging out around the fire pit (thanks Teresa), drinking a wonderful home-brewed beer (thanks Gregg), and eating a well-earned cream-filled cupcake (thanks Debbie). I waited until Matt and Gregg both finished their 50 miles, then went home for a nice hot shower and a full, luxurious, breakfast. Hard to beat the life of an ultrarunner.

My experiment was complete. In addition to accomplishing the extra long night training run, I was able to test-out a few new ultra choices:


All of the above worked like a charm! My feet felt fine in the Hokas all night...and today I feel less sore than usual. The CEP calf sleeves kept me warm and provided a little extra support for the muscles--no calf problems today. The Pepcid AC I took with breakfast (at 11pm) seemed to keep my stomach problems at bay...no stomach or intestinal issues during the entire run. Finally, my new sports drink from Tailwind Nutrition worked for the whole 9 hours and 49 minutes. My only supplemental food was Pringles potato chips and Honey Nut Cheerios. My usual chaffing issues didn't happen--maybe it was the new compression underwear--or just the cold weather. Still, running 50 miles with no hot spots is a success!

I now have 355 "Riddle Run" miles. Most of anyone in the world at this event over the last 14 years. Very proud of that achievement. I'm also one of only two people to have run at each of the 14 events--Tom Rice and I are steadfast regulars. Good job Tom. Always great to see you every January at the Riddle Run.

Special thanks to:
  • Jeff for organizing this event every year. It's always one of the highlights of my year. Can't run an event that doesn't exist. Thanks for making it possible.
  • Matt, Gregg, and Dan for coming out at midnight to run with me. You guys aren't even training for any races--thanks for helping out a friend!
  • Debbie and crew for making the cupcakes.
  • Tom for participating in his 14th straight Riddle Run--it's just you and me that have done them all--good to see you again buddy!
  • Marty for coming out at 4am to run a loop with us...then spraining your ankle on those darn rocks before the icy drainage area. Hope you're OK.
  • The other 50+ runners that came out at 8am to do the "regular" fat ass run. Great to have company on the trail after 40 miles!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Are You Fit? Are You Healthy?

Runners are one of the fittest groups around. Running is an awesome form of exercise and it works pretty efficiently at getting us fit. But are we healthy too? These concepts are not the same. You can be fit, but unhealthy. Ever "run into" a fast endurance runner that was always sick and injured? That ain't healthy! If you are regularly sidelined by injuries, or held down by frequent colds and illness, you may need to rethink your true fitness level. Something is wrong. Phil Maffetone may have the solution to get you healthy...and fit as well.

Maybe running below your aerobic threshold (and well below your lactate threshold!) could lead to greater fat burning, greater health, and even faster race times. Do you run below a heart rate of 180 minus your age? Seem too slow?

Check out this interview with Maffetone from the Runners Connect web site for the rationale behind pure aerobic training:

Monday, January 21, 2013

What's a Progression Run?

I did a nice progression run on the treadmill today. What's a progression run, you ask? Take a look at this heart rate graph:


Get the idea? Start slow and incrementally progress to faster and faster paces. The key is to finish faster than you started. No dramatic changes, just a smooth progression from walking to jogging to running. I stopped around my lactate threshold (HR=170-172). My breathing never became labored. Some progression runs finish with sprinting, but I wasn't up for that today. You can see after almost reaching my lactate threshold, I took a recovery walk, then went for about 1/2 mile back at that top threshold pace (for me, today, it was 9 mph). That isn't a characteristic of most progression runs, but it felt right today! These runs are great fitness boosters and they should leave you refreshed, rather than fatigued.

PS: The zone labels on the left of the graph are my Arthur Lydiard/Roy Benson effort-based zones derived from my resting heart rate and maximum heart rate. Just a way to see how much time I spend in each zone per run, per week, or per training cycle. The key to progression runs is the steady progression in pace and heart rate--the actual zone is not crucial. Although, in my mind, this is a progression run THROUGH THE ZONES.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Pepcid AC for Ultrarunner's Stomach?

I've been training for the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run (April 6-7, 2013) and noticed the race director's training tips suggested taking Pepcid AC on race morning and again that evening to help calm the stomach and prevent the runner from having gastric issues while running for 24 hours. Having a "sour" or upset stomach has been a problem of mine in ultras that last over 8 hours. For a 100 mile event, where I'll be going for 24+ hours, stomach issues are a major hurdle.  You need to continue eating so you can continue running...or at least making forward progress!  No fuel = no movement. Stomach problems tend to prevent eating and drinking, so this notion of being proactive with a Pepcid AC (or competing product) sounds interesting.

Any runners out there try this proactive tactic?  Have other suggestions for calming (or preventing) stomach problems?  I've tried Tums and Rolaids, but they don't seem to work very well. Maybe I need to take them sooner and more often?  Also, ginger products might help a bit, but I'm not a fan of the ginger taste. I plan on trying the Pepcid AC on a couple of extremely long training runs and shorter ultras (25-30 miles) and see how it works. If I can solve my stomach issues, I'll have a good chance (or at least "better" chance) of finishing Umstead 100 in under 24 hours.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Chris' Happy Heart Rate Zones

Arthur Lydiard? Ernst Van Aacken? Roy Benson? Phil Maffetone? What do these names have in common? Great coaches who utilized heart rate (or effort-based) training zones. I've been playing around with their various target zones for several years now. And I've come to a conclusion...I don't need any of them. I have my own zones!

I am calling my new feeling-based zones Chris' "Happy Heart Rate Zones." Why? Because they make me happy. Not too fast, not too slow, and each has a purpose. Lately I've been running at whatever paces or efforts feel good to me. I seem to settle into three basic zones: easy, moderate, and hard (but not too hard). Those three efforts are not that unique, but what is different, is that I've tracked what my heart rate is in each of those feeling-based zones. Here are my three zones. The "in the zone" heart rate is where I seem to settle into when I'm cruising along in that particular effort level.

EASY RUNNING
Heart Rate Zone = 115-135
"In the Zone" HR = 130
This is my easy aerobic zone. Basic conditioning. Mostly fat burning. I'm never breathing hard in this zone, but I still am making an effort. In the past, my "easy" zone was too easy and actually felt uncomfortable. Why run at an uncomfortable "easy" pace? If I'm going to be uncomfortable, I should be running a lot faster! Easy should feel easy, relaxed, and comfortable. I can run forever in this zone. Well, maybe not indefinitely, but this is certainly 30+ mile territory. Never taxing.

MODERATE RUNNING
Heart Rate Zone = 136-156
"In the Zone" HR = 145
This is still mostly aerobic, but toward the higher end. I need to push just a bit to get into this zone, but once there, it's easy to keep it going. Still not breathing hard, but the legs are moving faster. This is officially still in Lydirad's (and Benson's) easy zone. It's not completely easy for me, so I call it moderate. Seriously less effort than a tempo run, but harder than a basic easy run. I can do this for a couple of hours. I'll feel a bit spent after a long effort here, but still ready to go again tomorrow. Short runs in this range leave me with more energy than when I started. Pretty sweet zone!

HARD RUNNING
Heart Rate Zone = 157-167
"In the Zone" HR = 165
This is my tempo run pace. Not extremely hard, but definitely a concerted effort. Just pushing up to the lactate threshold boundary (for me, around 170-172). My breathing is slightly faster, but not truly labored (which happens when I cross the LT threshold around 172). This is what Lydiard and Benson would call "sub-threshold" running. I can stay here for 20-50 minutes. The shorter efforts bring renewed energy, the longer ones a bit of fatigue. I'm not completely spent after these runs, and I can run the next day with just a hint of soreness.

As an ultrarunner, I don't do much speed work. Maybe I should. I find the risk-reward equation to be too risky for me. Tempo runs, or sub-threshold runs, seem more appropriate. With an average of 6 runs per week, I figure I'll split them up into 3 easy, 2 moderate, and 1 hard. That's Chris' simple "Happy Heart Rate Training." I encourage you to follow an "effort-based" (HR-based) training program...but don't blindly follow other's suggestions...find your own zones!  Happy running.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Hoka Brothers Had a Good Week

I suppose it's almost time for me to fully review my Hoka Stinson Evo shoes. At first, I didn't like them much. Now, they are growing on me. Finished a 20-mile trail run today, in the cold and windy weather, and felt really good. Gregg and Jeff have sworn the Hokas have given them a new running life, but I was a bit skeptical (even though I got them hooked on these shoes in the first place). In my mind, Jeff and Gregg were the "Hoka Brothers"--they always wear those damn shoes!  Now, I may have joined that group too...and the three Hoka Brothers had a good week of running!

Here are my statistics for the week:

Count:7 Activities
Distance:55.12 mi
Max Distance:19.89 mi
Avg Distance:7.87 mi
Time:9:59:19 h:m:s
Avg Speed:5.5 mph
Avg HR:122 bpm
Max HR:174 bpm
Calories:7,096 C

Five of those seven runs were with Jeff, three with Gregg (with some overlap). And that seventh run today with Gregg was a good one. Here it is:


I ended 2012 with my best week of that year. Nice to start 2013 with another solid week. Less than 90 days until the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run!  And 20 days until my first "race" of 2013...the Riddle Run Fat Ass on January 26. That'll be another good test for the Hoka shoes.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

2013 Running Goals

Finally, January 1st is here! Seems like it took a full year to arrive. I've not done well with my running goals this past year or two, so it may be time to pull back and create feasible goals for 2013. Or not. Here are my specific, measurable, goals for the coming year:

1. Run 2,013 miles.
I tried to reach 2012 miles in 2012...and failed miserably. Why not up the ante by another mile? In 2013, I will run 2,013 miles. This is a great process-oriented goal. It isn't an end-goal, just a gradual process of accumulating mile after mile. Most will be on trails, but a few miles will find their way into my running log from the treadmill at the gym or the roads around town. Fast or slow, roads or trails, they are all good miles. I just need to average about 38.7 miles per week, every week, for 52 weeks. That's doable.

2. Break 24 hours at Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run.
I'll be happy with 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds. That would be a huge 100-mile personal record. This translates to an average pace of 14:23 per mile...for 100 consecutive miles. Seems easy, right? After about 75 miles it won't be that easy. When you are tired, thirsty, hungry, blistered, and chaffed at 1 am...it's easy to quit...or slow down. Suddenly, 14:23 pace is monumental. This very specific distance/time goal is a nice complement to the total mileage goal above.

3. Complete 6 ultra-marathons in 2013.
Anything over 26.2 miles counts as an ultra-marathon...and I plan on finishing at least 6 events this year. Tentatively, I plan on the following eight: Riddle Run 28/50, Kennekuk Fat Ass 28, Land Between the Lakes 60K, Umstead 100, Howl at Moon 8-Hour, Evergreen Lake 50K, Farmdale 30, and McNotAgain 30. I might add one or two other races, and one of these listed may become a DNS or DNF. I'm confident I'll finish at least six. Who can't run one ultra every two months?

Have a great year of running and I hope you achieve all your goals.