I made no secret of being a bit concerned about this season's Biggest Loser. Don't get me wrong, their marathon running shenanigans is part of what got me running again and I give credit where due. It's one thing to have a bunch of class 3 obese people who have spent 12 weeks being relentlessly trained run 26.2 miles but it's an entirely different animal to allow the people who have been voted off to play along.
To be honest, to take a casual runner, someone who has run a few 5k races to a marathon in 12 weeks is grossly irresponsible and honestly, legally negligent if they get injured. The body just simply cannot adapt that quickly to the increased load. The odds of getting injured, game endingly injured are HUGE. In prior seasons, I've let it go since this is a fairly unique study. All of these people are trained for six days a week by world class trainers and have 24/7 access to sports medicine specialists. When you start sending people home, out into the real world, where they can't devote 8 hours a day, 6 days a week to training; when a trip to the doctor requires an appointment, a co-pay (if you are insured) and a doctor that has half a clue about sports medicine to even begin to correct any injury, it's just criminal to encourage these people to attempt that distance.
Watching last night's episode, I noticed that more people were wearing knee braces than not. So, we have a lot of people with some manner of tendinopathy doing weight bearing exercises for our entertainment. Considering the injuries they are risking by not resting, this is no longer entertaining to me...but that's not what sealed it.
They did their usual "where are they now" with the voted off contestant and she was bright eyed, looking good and excited about her new life. Then she goes on to brag about her 20 mile long run...wait, didn't she have a stress fracture? Then they cut to video of her running or shall I say limping and hobbling along. So they are condoning having a still overweight woman RUNNING on a damaged limb? I'm sorry but we passed irresponsible two exits ago.
I wish all the contestants well but I don't think watching them risk their health is entertainment.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Peace
I was thinking about this during yesterday's long run. Running gives the best sense of community with people I don't know that I've ever felt. Sure, it's not the first group identity I've ever had, it likely won't be my last but I think it has to do with the shared feelings of some very powerful emotions that gives this whole "Kuria Ba"* vibe.
I was running along, seeing people who were having their last long run before the Harrisburg Marathon and their last long run of the season. There is the pride of accomplishment beaming out of so many faces. They know they are ready, there is also the melancholy feeling that this is the end of the season, the last we will see each other for a few months. Everyone is bright and alert, soaking it all in, knowing that there are just too few days like this. It's odd that people I know as "Mutt & Jeff," "The Little Brunette Girl," "Serious Guy" and "Giggles" mean something to me and I suppose I to them. I know virtually nothing about them but the little things I know are important.
Running is so primal that it brings forth emotions. You will know pain, you will know exuberance, you will know utter exhaustion, you will win, you will lose, you will be afraid and you will be a super-hero. You know about blisters, about chafing, about heat, about sweat and you'll know that crossing the finish line make all of it worth it. They acknowledge you when they see you, seldom trading more than a single word of encouragement...but they are always encouraging, they know you need it. Your friends really don't understand, they love you so they listen, they ask questions and they do their best but it's like explaining petting a kitten to someone who's seen a picture of one.
So we smile and we wave at each other and I'm very aware of a strong sense of community. I will miss these people over the winter. I'll keep running and I'm sure they will too but once it becomes cold, there is no longer a best time to run so the odds of seeing each other dwindles. I flash each of them a peace sign when they pass. They smile brightly because they know it's a sincere wish, that each day would bring them this feeling. We are one.
*Kuria Ba - Is a greeting of the Raramuri people meaning "We are one." The Raramuri came to the attention of runners around the world as a result of the Christopher McDougall book "Born to Run."
I was running along, seeing people who were having their last long run before the Harrisburg Marathon and their last long run of the season. There is the pride of accomplishment beaming out of so many faces. They know they are ready, there is also the melancholy feeling that this is the end of the season, the last we will see each other for a few months. Everyone is bright and alert, soaking it all in, knowing that there are just too few days like this. It's odd that people I know as "Mutt & Jeff," "The Little Brunette Girl," "Serious Guy" and "Giggles" mean something to me and I suppose I to them. I know virtually nothing about them but the little things I know are important.
Running is so primal that it brings forth emotions. You will know pain, you will know exuberance, you will know utter exhaustion, you will win, you will lose, you will be afraid and you will be a super-hero. You know about blisters, about chafing, about heat, about sweat and you'll know that crossing the finish line make all of it worth it. They acknowledge you when they see you, seldom trading more than a single word of encouragement...but they are always encouraging, they know you need it. Your friends really don't understand, they love you so they listen, they ask questions and they do their best but it's like explaining petting a kitten to someone who's seen a picture of one.
So we smile and we wave at each other and I'm very aware of a strong sense of community. I will miss these people over the winter. I'll keep running and I'm sure they will too but once it becomes cold, there is no longer a best time to run so the odds of seeing each other dwindles. I flash each of them a peace sign when they pass. They smile brightly because they know it's a sincere wish, that each day would bring them this feeling. We are one.
*Kuria Ba - Is a greeting of the Raramuri people meaning "We are one." The Raramuri came to the attention of runners around the world as a result of the Christopher McDougall book "Born to Run."
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Winterizing
Time to break out the cold gear, the gloves, the balaclava but more importantly, time to recompute what an "easy" pace is.
One of the things that's not always obvious is that really your run pace is about effort and training your cardio and energy delivery systems more than it is about how fast you are really traveling...that part of the training is, comparatively easy. That's why I love wearing my heart rate monitor when the seasons change, my new "easy" pace is almost 40 seconds faster than it was.
Some of the other challenges of winter running are hydration and nutrition. I still haven't figured out how to keep the water from getting insanely cold or solid. So far the best I can come up with is bringing very warm water. The bottles are so poorly insulated that this only buys me half an hour or so. I had come up with a solution to nutrition but I didn't like it. The cold tends to thicken up gels and it's hard to get them out of the package or the gel bottle. I went to the Clif Bloks. I'm usually a GU guy and like the flavor of the Chomps better BUT the packaging is stupid. Trying to dig a single Chomp out of the bag with a gloved hand and then reseal the pouch while on the run is trying. I like that I can just peel open the wrapper on the Bloks when I want another. I accidentally found a third way that I'm trying tomorrow. I forgot that I am out of gel for my long run tomorrow but we were on our way to the grocery store, I went over to their aisle where they have nutritional supplement type things and I was just looking for anything. I could make 9 miles un-fueled so, maybe even a Clif Bar. I was looking at their offerings and noticed PowerBar Energy. It's in similar packaging to a gel but it is obviously a lot wetter. I looked on the back. Hmmmm, caffeinated, two sugar sources, sodium and potassium...sounds like gel! If this stuff will flow out of the gel bottle, I'm going to be VERY happy, unless it tastes terrible.
One of the things that's not always obvious is that really your run pace is about effort and training your cardio and energy delivery systems more than it is about how fast you are really traveling...that part of the training is, comparatively easy. That's why I love wearing my heart rate monitor when the seasons change, my new "easy" pace is almost 40 seconds faster than it was.
Some of the other challenges of winter running are hydration and nutrition. I still haven't figured out how to keep the water from getting insanely cold or solid. So far the best I can come up with is bringing very warm water. The bottles are so poorly insulated that this only buys me half an hour or so. I had come up with a solution to nutrition but I didn't like it. The cold tends to thicken up gels and it's hard to get them out of the package or the gel bottle. I went to the Clif Bloks. I'm usually a GU guy and like the flavor of the Chomps better BUT the packaging is stupid. Trying to dig a single Chomp out of the bag with a gloved hand and then reseal the pouch while on the run is trying. I like that I can just peel open the wrapper on the Bloks when I want another. I accidentally found a third way that I'm trying tomorrow. I forgot that I am out of gel for my long run tomorrow but we were on our way to the grocery store, I went over to their aisle where they have nutritional supplement type things and I was just looking for anything. I could make 9 miles un-fueled so, maybe even a Clif Bar. I was looking at their offerings and noticed PowerBar Energy. It's in similar packaging to a gel but it is obviously a lot wetter. I looked on the back. Hmmmm, caffeinated, two sugar sources, sodium and potassium...sounds like gel! If this stuff will flow out of the gel bottle, I'm going to be VERY happy, unless it tastes terrible.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Serendipity
Sometimes, things take pretty interesting turns.
Last night, Doreen and I decided to stop by and visit for a moment with one of our former Weight Watchers leaders, JoAnn. She's one of the two amazing leaders who's meetings I attended. We talked for a few minutes, caught up and I mentioned that I was now an RRCA certified running coach. Apparently there are a lot of her members have taken up running to help with their weight loss and she asked if I'd be interesting in coming in and giving a short "how to do it right" kinda thing.
SERIOUSLY!?!
Help turn some overweight people into runners and overweight runners into better runners? Well YES, I believe that is exactly the kind of thing I'm interested in doing. I'm hoping that RRCA will get me set up on their website so I can get their liability insurance because, it's time to do this thing.
Last night, Doreen and I decided to stop by and visit for a moment with one of our former Weight Watchers leaders, JoAnn. She's one of the two amazing leaders who's meetings I attended. We talked for a few minutes, caught up and I mentioned that I was now an RRCA certified running coach. Apparently there are a lot of her members have taken up running to help with their weight loss and she asked if I'd be interesting in coming in and giving a short "how to do it right" kinda thing.
SERIOUSLY!?!
Help turn some overweight people into runners and overweight runners into better runners? Well YES, I believe that is exactly the kind of thing I'm interested in doing. I'm hoping that RRCA will get me set up on their website so I can get their liability insurance because, it's time to do this thing.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Refocusing
I've not stopped blogging here, I just don't have a lot interesting to say right this moment. The racing season is over and I'm taking a week off of running to let the legs fully recover and I'm getting back to eating right to lose the remainder of the weight. Honestly the video that Doreen caught of me crossing the line in the most recent 5k is a great help. I look like I'm wearing a trash bag filled with jello...no, you can't see it. I'm still waiting for my addition to the RRCA's coach webpage and in a couple of days, it will officially be three weeks and time for me to get uppity about it. I need to do something with the website I am going to set up for coaching but that's just been on the back burner lately. We are now well under the thirty day mark for our trip to Walt Disney World and soon the packing will commence. It's too early to pack clothing and toiletries but not too early to start assembling some of the items that might otherwise be forgotten and that rookies don't think to take to a theme park.
So, life is good. Kuria Ba my friends.
So, life is good. Kuria Ba my friends.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Have a plan
This most recent race demonstrated this for me in a way I'd not yet experienced and I just have to remind those who don't: Always have a race day plan.
I'm not talking about a step-by-step plan but I'm stunned by how many people go out on a race course with no more of a strategy than "I'm going to run fast." Heck, even the seemingly innocuous goals like "I won't take any walk breaks" can kill you.
I'll be honest. I tore past a lot of much better athletes. They were more fit and clearly better trained, they were also very simple-minded in how they ran.
Their very first problem is that they had obviously read none of the race instructions. A person doesn't need to memorize exactly where each and every water station is but it's good to know if there will be one nearby at a nutrition interval. If you just pour gel down the hatch without any water to dilute it, it will be some time before you get any benefit from that gel.
They also obviously didn't have any goals. If you don't know what you want to do in a race...how can you judge how well you are doing? Have tiers of goals and conditions for each. Going into the race I didn't know how well the hamstring was going to hold up or what kind of cardio condition I really had so my minimum goal was to finish. I knew the cut-off time of the race (YA reason to read the instructions) and I knew I could if anything gave out after mile 5, I could still walk to the end and meet the deadline. The second goal was what I expected, a nice sedate 11:20 m/m pace. I had done this in long runs and I was sure I could do it for the entire length of the course if I just felt okay. Then I had the goal for if everything went right, if I reached mile 3 and everything felt good, I wanted to tie my fastest time (It wasn't REALLY a PR since I wasn't racing) of 2:11.
The best part of having a plan with time goals is that you only have to run your own race. Once I decided to run the race, I was focused on what would allow me to run as fast as possible. While slogging up one rather steep hill, I stopped running. My heart rate was climbing and I was burning lots of fuel and not really moving that fast. A trio of men ran past and one was reminding the others of their goal to not stop running. By the time they reached the apex of the hill, they were utterly exhausted and barely moving at a trot. I blasted past them and never saw them again.
To make any of this work, you have to be honest. Where are your strengths and weaknesses? If you don't have an honest notion of your ability, you can't be mindful when you are burning energy for no good reason. One young lady let it get into her head that I was a better hill runner than she was. I would trot past her on the modest climbs and as I neared the top, she would go racing past...occasionally being forced to a walk by the top of the hill. She wasted her energy surging past me on hill climbs 6 to 8 times during the race. Finally, I stopped seeing her...she finished a solid 5 minutes behind me.
There is one other part of my plan that makes a huge difference...plan your music. If the course allows music and you run with music, take a moment to tailor the playlist. If you know the bad parts of the course, the times where you know your energy is going to be low and the only thing on your mind is quitting, have a sound track that sets your soul on fire. It was no accident that as I was coming up on the 3 mile mark, Disturbed's Indestructable filled my ears.
I'm not talking about a step-by-step plan but I'm stunned by how many people go out on a race course with no more of a strategy than "I'm going to run fast." Heck, even the seemingly innocuous goals like "I won't take any walk breaks" can kill you.
I'll be honest. I tore past a lot of much better athletes. They were more fit and clearly better trained, they were also very simple-minded in how they ran.
Their very first problem is that they had obviously read none of the race instructions. A person doesn't need to memorize exactly where each and every water station is but it's good to know if there will be one nearby at a nutrition interval. If you just pour gel down the hatch without any water to dilute it, it will be some time before you get any benefit from that gel.
They also obviously didn't have any goals. If you don't know what you want to do in a race...how can you judge how well you are doing? Have tiers of goals and conditions for each. Going into the race I didn't know how well the hamstring was going to hold up or what kind of cardio condition I really had so my minimum goal was to finish. I knew the cut-off time of the race (YA reason to read the instructions) and I knew I could if anything gave out after mile 5, I could still walk to the end and meet the deadline. The second goal was what I expected, a nice sedate 11:20 m/m pace. I had done this in long runs and I was sure I could do it for the entire length of the course if I just felt okay. Then I had the goal for if everything went right, if I reached mile 3 and everything felt good, I wanted to tie my fastest time (It wasn't REALLY a PR since I wasn't racing) of 2:11.
The best part of having a plan with time goals is that you only have to run your own race. Once I decided to run the race, I was focused on what would allow me to run as fast as possible. While slogging up one rather steep hill, I stopped running. My heart rate was climbing and I was burning lots of fuel and not really moving that fast. A trio of men ran past and one was reminding the others of their goal to not stop running. By the time they reached the apex of the hill, they were utterly exhausted and barely moving at a trot. I blasted past them and never saw them again.
To make any of this work, you have to be honest. Where are your strengths and weaknesses? If you don't have an honest notion of your ability, you can't be mindful when you are burning energy for no good reason. One young lady let it get into her head that I was a better hill runner than she was. I would trot past her on the modest climbs and as I neared the top, she would go racing past...occasionally being forced to a walk by the top of the hill. She wasted her energy surging past me on hill climbs 6 to 8 times during the race. Finally, I stopped seeing her...she finished a solid 5 minutes behind me.
There is one other part of my plan that makes a huge difference...plan your music. If the course allows music and you run with music, take a moment to tailor the playlist. If you know the bad parts of the course, the times where you know your energy is going to be low and the only thing on your mind is quitting, have a sound track that sets your soul on fire. It was no accident that as I was coming up on the 3 mile mark, Disturbed's Indestructable filled my ears.
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