Last minute gift ideas

Here are some last minute ideas for your Christmas shopping list. Don't worry you are not alone in needing to find that last minute present.

Retailers all over the country are bracing for a second black Friday onslaught. What better way to spend your Christmas Eve than to do your patriotic duty and go shopping to rescue the economy?

Here is my list:

For the athlete who has it all (including a power meter) there is sweat analysis, courtesy of Carmichael systems. Move over lactate, VO2 max and threshold power, in come the bodily fluids. I am sure they will throw in a free urine analysis to check for doping if you ask politely enough.

For the athletes who like to impress their prospective girl/boyfriends or the neighbors with their awesome power output, there are a number of power meters, including these beauties.

For those having trouble finding their way out of a paper bag there is an endless list of GPS toys. And for the bikeless runners who might get lost and fall prey to mountain lions, rattlesnakes and killer bees, there are these. Highly recommended for your baby boomer athlete!

Here is a cure for those in the hood suffering from wheelset envy.  If the set exceeds your disposable income, you can always go back to your childhood days and attach playing cards to your spokes.

Other neighborhoods like to show off their lights instead. Here are some great ideas that won't require a second mortgage but are sure to dazzle Wusteria lane.

For those unfortunate enough to be snowed in, there is the revolution trainer from good old Greg. This one will get you ready for the Tourmalet once the white stuff turns to slush.

If your bikes tend to get stolen you can always use these. They are guaranteed to work better than a Kryptonite lock. Not to mention the visual deterrent factor. Take that bike thief-wanna bees!

If you really run out of ideas there is always a box of protein bars or some magic powder at the grocery store. This stuff will surely propel your would-be athlete to the top of the podium.

For those down to earth, nothing works better than a pair of warm socks, or mittens.

As for me, I will be indulging in a Belgian Christmas brew while waiting for my New Year's gifts.

Happy Holidays.

TeamCindy in the news

A story about TeamCindy at the Boston Marathon in the Examiner.

Run baby, run

One reason for training in a group is that it is far easier to push yourself when others are around. Groups are naturally competitive and almost any group run (or group ride) will contain some high intensity stretches. It is also easier to suffer when others around you suffer too.

When you are by yourself pushing hard is much more difficult to do. You have to motivate yourself and then you have to make sure you follow through. That is much worse than it sounds, and it may be one of the reasons why people like gadgets. A gadget like a speedometer or a heart rate monitor (or a power meter on the bike) lets you know how hard you are going. That makes it much tougher to cheat or delude yourself.

The Boston marathon is coming up. There are less than two weeks to go and although I ran a lot this year, I haven't done much speed work. So this past week I decided to add some intensity. It started out well but in the end I did not do as much as I should have.

On Tuesday I ran 8 miles in the hills, including a two mile stretch on Grizzly at 9 mph. That was pretty hard. I had expected to run 8.5 but was able to hold 9 despite the rollers so I felt great afterwards.

On Wednesday I added a 7.5 mile run with a fast one-miler. On Thursday I ran to Montclair and back for a total of 7.5 miles. This stretch is not flat either but it has more flat sections than my usual 7.5 mile run and parts of it are similar in feel to the Boston course. On Friday I rode on rollers for 1 hour. Here I focused on spinning to add some leg speed.

On Saturday I drove Alistair to Milton/Copperopolis for his race, but it was too cold out there to run. The temperature was at 47 F/8 C with a nasty wind. I had counted on sun and so I did not bring warm clothing. Fortunately, as soon as we got back home the sun came out and it felt quite a bit warmer. I set out at 3 PM to do an 8 mile loop but ended up running 10.5 on Shepherd.

On Sunday we had a late winter storm and the weather was pretty horrible all day, except for early morning. I decided it would be better if I rested. I spent my time watching the Ronde and shopping around for flights to Boston.

Today I ran 8 miles to Montclair and back. There were showers in the morning but by afternoon the sun came out and it was warm and pleasant. I tried to do some speed work too, although I am not sure how effective it was.

My fundraising effort for the Brain Aneurysm Foundation is going so-so. In some ways it is going better than I expected, but on the other hand, I can't really say I am bringing in the dough. I'll be happy if I reach $1,000, and overjoyed if I can hit my target of $2,000.

A lot of running

I certainly ran a lot this year and I covered a lot of distance. More so than other years I am sure. In recent years I have gone into marathons without ever running more than 10 miles at a time, in the months beforehand, although I did do speed workouts every time. While I do think omitting long runs affects performance, the speed work does make up for some of it.

This year, I did not do much speed work at all so it will be interesting to see how I will do in the upcoming Boston marathon. Although I did not run any really long distance -I have never done so before a marathon in any case, I did run quite a few 14 and 15 milers in the hills.

I will say that running 14-15 miles in the Oakland hills is probably equivalent to running 18 or 19 on the flats. All these runs include at least 1,000 ft of climbing and some of it is steep to boot. In any case, it does take me more than 2 hours to run that distance in the hills, and I am not running slow. Some of these runs would definitely qualify as tempo runs or, at the very least, they did contain serious stretches of tempo running.

On Friday I ran 15 miles, through Montclair, over Joaquin Miller and back on Skyline. This loop includes a famous steep 1.2 mile climb to Skyline and a further one mile climb to the top of Skyline for a total of 765 feet. On Saturday I rode 35 miles on the road and on Sunday, I once again ran the Joaquin Miller loop. Today I rested.

Sunday was also the first running of the Oakland marathon. The new marathon that is, because 25 or so years ago there used to be an Oakland marathon. I think I may run that race next year if it is still around. Cheaper than going to Boston and better for the environment too!

Three's a charm

Twice I dressed up for riding on Saturday. Twice I opened the garage door to let my bike out and twice it started raining right then and there. But the third time was a charm. I left the house around 2:00 and rode for 2:30 hours. No rain. It felt really good.

Today I drove Alistair to the Early Bird Criterium in Fremont. There was rain in the forecast and it did rain a bit, but not much. Finally around 2:00 the sky cleared a bit and although it was still cloudy, everything looked fine for a run. I got dressed and ran 10.5 miles, from Ardenwood Circle to Coyote Hills park and then the final 2 miles of the Alameda Creek trail until it hits the Bay.

Going out felt great because there was a mild tail wind and I felt warm and happy. Coming back was a bit more challenging as the wind was now a headwind and it felt quite cold. Nevertheless I was able to time it so I arrived just as the Pro-1-2-3 ended and we could leave.

So far it has remained dry even though there was rain in the forecast. We will see what tonight and tomorrow brings. If all goes well we will stay dry but I am not holding my breath. It seems we are in the middle of a series of rain storms brought about by a minor El Nino event in the Pacific. If so, that could well mean a very wet winter and spring.

Five storms in a row

This week we got hit by five storms in a row. One for each day of the week, starting on Sunday. The one on Wednesday was particularly bad, dumping tons on water and causing flooding and mayhem everywhere. On top of it all the temperatures dropped steadily as the week went on and now we are braving 40's to low 50's as a day-time high.

For those of you who live where there is a real winter, 40's may sound balmy, but to us, Northern Californians, it is downright cold. Needless to say, people's blogs and facebook pages overflowed with stories about daring-do survival and building character. I for one, chose to stay inside instead.

Given that the human body does very little, if any, cold adaptation, and that cyclists living in colder climes migrate South every winter like the starlings do, I wonder what the use of suffering in the cold really is. But to some of us though ones, it seems a proof of moral fiber (not to say manliness so as to be politically correct).

On Wednesday and on Thursday, I ran 8.5 miles on the treadmill, trying to keep an 8 mph pace. For some odd reason I seem to have a lot of trouble doing that now. Whereas I could run 8.2 and 8.3 last year, this year I have yet to run over 8 uninterrupted. Today, I ran 7.75 miles in the hills, as the storms finally disappeared. Nevertheless I still had to deal with drizzle for the last 3 miles.

Compounding my treadmill problem is that the new machine has a tendency to go out of alignment and the belt then moves to one side or another. When that happens the only option is to stop and adjust the tension on the roller. However, it appears to me that the vibrations of running undo the adjustment and after half an hour or so, a new iteration is needed. I hope a mat will remedy the situation. This never happened to my (equally cheap) previous treadmill.

However it is clear that this improved version means more useless gadgetry on a cheaper frame. The Healthrider I owned before had a steel frame, whereas the Reebok (don't be fooled they are both Icon treadmills) sports a lot of plastic instead.

An update

The weather has been bizarre. We've been caught in a sun-sandwich of sorts on most days. The Eastern valleys have fog and it spills over the hills, looking very pretty (see picture), but also very cold and wet. To the West, the Bay and downtown Berkeley is covered in haze or fog as well. In between it is sunny and warm.

Twice I went riding in Redwood park, starting out at the Skyline (Oakland) gate and continuing on the rim trail to the Pinehurst gate. The distance is about 4 miles. Twice, when I started out it was warm and sunny at the Skyline gate and I felt distinctly overdressed in my tights, long sleeve jersey and booties. Yet as soon as I approached Pinehurst, a thick fog covered the trail and it was cold, windy, wet, with almost no visibility. Then I felt cold, all in a space of 3.5-4 miles.

On Sunday I ran 12 miles on the Alameda creek trail. It has been a while since I ran that course and it was pretty as ever, with plenty of sun and a salty taste in the air. On Monday I rode on rollers for 1:20, going pretty hard. On Tuesday I ran on my treadmill for about an hour. I tried to run hard, but I could not keep the pace. I also had to stop to adjust the tread belt repeatedly. Then on Wednesday and Thursday I did the Redwood rides described above, with some extras. About 2 hours each.

Today, I ran for 1:06 minutes on the treadmill. I tried a 30 minute tempo run and was moderately successful. I more or less kept my pace at about 8.7 mph. What was even better was that the treadmill did not act up at all, so I could keep going.

I helped Alistair with some time-trial training on rollers and had Annelise run 2.5 miles on the treadmill. All in a day's work.

Specificity

Training is highly specific. There is no such thing as "being in shape" as a general category. Usually what people mean when they say there are "in shape" is that they can walk or jog a certain distance without being out of breath. In essence that means their cardiovascular system is used to a certain amount of stress that exceeds lying around on the couch all day, or working in an office.

Those people would be surprised if they suddenly were asked to perform above average in a sport that they did not train for. Then they would say, "I don't know why I feel so trashed, or why I got dropped, or why I was out of breath, I thought I was in good shape." And the truth is they may well have been and be very fit.

This post was triggered by two events. First I read one of my favorite blogs and found out the author, who is an ironman athlete and distance runner/cyclist, reported he had trouble finishing a marathon, despite having run ultra marathons in summer. It turns out he did very little running since those ultra-events and has been cycling almost exclusively. So while his cardio was good, his run fitness was not.

Then, yesterday I was out on my regular 10.5 mile hilly run (the Shepherd loop) and I too was suffering despite just completing a super power test on the bike, that put me solidly in the Cat2 power range. I.e. my cycling fitness is near its high, but I suffered on a run that -until recently- I used to run on a weekly basis. And it wasn't because I was tired from biking. It was simply because I haven't run much for about a month.

In some sense, this situation is even worse than having no training. One is fit when it comes to cardiovascular output, but the mechanical system is not on par. At best that will mean a lot of suffering, at worst, an injury. So I will try to remedy this situation before it gets out of hand. I just installed a new treadmill and will do some running on that.

On Monday I rode 20 on my mountain bike. Redwood was very muddy and I looked pretty dirty when I got back. There must have been five pounds of mud on my bike too.

On Tuesday I rode on rollers for 1:20 and on Wednesday again for 1:10. Both pretty intense workouts with a power test to boot.

On Thursday I rode my roadbike for 30 miles. I broke my rear wheel on Tunnel and had to come back and switch it out. First I thought it was just a spoke, but it turns out the rim was cracked in several places. Not good. I think I need a new wheelset for Christmas.

On Friday I ran my 10.5 mile loop -and suffered.

Today a one hour run on the treadmill. More suffering and more evidence to the specificity of training. I had trouble holding my pace at 8 mph. Not too long ago I could run 8.25.

Creaking and squeaking

Monday's ride over the backside of Papa Bear -Bear Creek Rd. if you aren't familiar with Berkeley- and Happy Valley was a lot of fun. But it also bothered me that the new KOM was making a lot of noise. The saddle creaked, and so did the handlebars. Tightening the bolts did nothing to alleviate the noises. It may even have made things worse.

The remedy turned out to be very simple: undo the bolts, apply some grease here and there, and tighten again. That took care of it and creaks and squeaks are now a thing of the past.

On Tuesday I ran 8.8 miles in the hills. On Wednesday I rode on rollers for 1:15, burning my customary 1,221 calories. On Thursday I had a pretty busy day going over to Marin for work, so I rested. On Friday, it drizzled and rained all day and I went for a run. It was clear when I took off, but as soon as I was down the hill a light drizzle started. I ran intervals up Bay Forest for a total of 7.5 miles (7 laps). It turned out to be a great choice.

Saturday was clear and I went on a 40 mile ride through Orinda and Moraga. I felt good and rode the hills quite fast. All went well until some guy passed me on the last hill. By now I was pretty tired -and I probably should have eaten something too- so I had to let go of him. Even so, I felt good and I think I got a good workout.

On Sunday I rode 28 with Alistair going up past Bort Meadow and coming back over Redwood. It was sunny but rather cool, especially on Redwood Rd. This time of year, Redwood is shaded for most of the day and it is also protected from the wind. That means it can get quite cold there, and near the bottom, ice may form in the early morning and at times it lingers until noon.

The bottom or Redwood near Pinehurst, and the intersection between Pinehurst and Canyon Rd. are some of the coldest spots in the East Bay.

Today 7.25 mi run in the hills. Overcast skies, cool weather.

KOM

I finally built up the frame that I bought almost a year ago. It had been sitting in my bedroom, nicely wrapped up in the original box it came in. Why? Not sure. It is true that I did not have the components at first and then in early Spring, I was reluctant to buy new things given the economic uncertainty. For a while prices were dropping and I probably held out for too long trying to get the Record UT Crank I wanted.

Then there were a number of incidents that stopped me every time I wanted to get going. Components I already had were suddenly needed to fix mine or Alistair's bike. The Ergomo I got for Alistair broke and I had to use the Campy bottom bracket I had earmarked for my frame. When I finally decided to get the Campy UT crank, I was unable to find a 175 at a reasonable price anywhere. Eurobikeparts had one for $350 but when they sold out I could not find another for less than $500.

To add insult to injury, my '06 carbon record crank lost a bolt and nut and nobody anywhere had a replacement for it. I ordered one set three times, and three times the order got canceled weeks later because the parts were out of stock and no new ones had come in. This may be hard to believe but it is true. I lost the bolt/nut combo in July and I still have not been able to find the torq bolt that I need. Record carbon uses non-standard, "special bolts and nuts." What a great idea that was!

Last week I decided enough was enough and I was just going to build it. I did and it took less than a day to do although I had to scavenge the chain from my tri bike. I was able to go ride the KOM that same afternoon. It felt great. The frame is super stiff and super light. And even though it is one of those "cheap Chinese frames that gets an Italian label and is then sold at exorbitant prices in the US" as Peter Koskinen would say, I still love it.

I want you to know that I did not pay an exorbitant price. I got the frame cheaper than what the lower end Kuota's sell for. Actually the whole bike was a super, super-deal and it cost less than some high end used bikes I was offered for sale by friends of mine.

Economists may not agree, but I say deflation is for real!

Friday: 20 miles with new bike.

Sat: 30 miles with new bike.

Sun: 7.25 mi run in the hills (with ultra-light shoes)

Mon: 1:10 on rollers. I felt pretty tired. Not sure why.

Tue: rest

Wed: 8.75 mile run in the hills (ultra-lights)

a solid week

On Monday and Tuesday I rode 40 miles, all at a very good pace. On Monday I rode to Orinda, then Moraga and over Redwood. On Tuesday I rode down Wildcat, over the backside of Papa Bear and Happy Valley and then back to Wildcat. Both rides burned in excess of 2,000 calories -with my newly calibrated power meter. On Monday I had some trouble with the speed readout as it turned out the pickup unit got mangled between the wheel and the chainstay after I had a flat on the Specialized team ride.

On Wednesday I ran 10.5 miles in the hills (i.e. the Montclair-Shepherd Cyn, Loop). On Thursday I ran 7.25 because I did not have time to go longer. I had originally planned to run 10.5 twice. There was a nice symmetry to my plan. Two days of 40 mile rides and 2 days of 10.5 miles running.

Friday I rode on rollers (without the forkstand) for 1:15 and burned a good 1,033 calories in the process. Today I rode 42 miles completing the South Loop of the Grizzly Century. That took 2,122 calories. Tomorrow I want to ride another 40 and then on Monday I will take a rest day.

In case you wonder, I am not training for anything in particular, but I would like to keep my fitness high so I can attempt a long distance cycling event early next year. As long as the weather cooperates -and if anything it is too hot now- I want to try to ride and run as much as I can.

I am still debating whether or not I will sign up for Boston. If I do it will probably be the last time I go there -it is too far really- and three is a good number. On the other hand, I am already stuck with another Lake Placid and so I am not sure I want to add another remote race to my calendar while I should be focusing on distance cycling.

The other problem is that both Placid and Boston coincide with a major cycling event that Alistair will take part in. Boston is on the same date as Sea Otter and LP happens during Nationals. This year I missed Sea Otter, which was a shame, and I only made it to part of Nationals, which was a hassle and quite expensive to boot.

Added on Sunday: rode 60 miles with Alistair. We rode the "fruitstand ride" starting from our house. Added a few sprints here and there and kept a good pace overall. We stopped in Danville to get some fluids and then again in Moraga. Total time was 3:45.

Dancing

I remember being a teenager and (attempting to) learn to dance. I was never very good at it. Back then, people still overwhelmingly danced ballroom dances (i.e. with steps that you had to learn and memorize). I could never do it. Within a few beats I would be hopelessly lost. I also failed miserably at keeping rhythms when I was playing a trumpet several years earlier.

Recently I saw a Michael Jackson interview where he said, "you can't think...thinking is bad." It simply doesn't work (or something to that effect) and he was right. I would always start thinking about my moves and voila, I would miss a step. And it would go downhill from there. The same happened when I tried to learn touch typing -another middle school activity that was popular in those days. I simply could not follow the rhythm the teacher would tap out. I ended up typing with two fingers for the longest time. Then one day, I just touch typed without ever practicing (or thinking about it--but that was fifteen years later).

Today I made another attempt at breathing every other stroke. Just as with dancing, my mind kept interfering and I could not get the rhythm straight. I would lose track and then be oxygen starved. The upshot of all that is that I consistently run out of breath within about 50 yards. I just can't seem to get the timing right. But I do admit that -while it works, however briefly- I do swim faster. I stroke faster and I can keep my momentum going.

For several days now I have felt nauseous and unable to eat much. Even after my 90 mile ride over the weekend, I could not eat. My stomach is constantly upset and I feel queasy as if I am going to throw up. It came to head yesterday evening and I think I may have caught some bug. (Other family members are having similar symptoms).

I tried to run on the treadmill yesterday but it was a miserable failure. I had to stop after 30 minutes and then again several times after that. All in all I ran 8 miles but it took 1:06 to do. I felt miserable. I could barely eat for dinner and it appears I lost weight too. Not good.

This morning was slightly better but I am still not 100%. Hope it clears soon. I need some long rides before Canada.

Nothing better than a cold beer

After Ironman Switzerland we were offered cold beer. Here in America, where recovery drinks reign, that would be considered heresy. But I have found that nothing tastes better or is more satisfying than a cold beer after a hard race. Especially when it is hot.

Please spare me the lectures that will say how alcohol dehydrates the body, or some other non-sense that is really trying to cover up the fact that you do not approve of anyone having a beer. I say, if it feels good there must be a reason why. That is, in general how biology works, and things that feel good are good for you (in moderation of course).

After Coeur d'Alene, I walked by a bar where a number of students were drinking beer from a pitcher. One started talking to me, and I -in my post-race high endorphin state- thought nothing of it to ask him if I could have a glass. To my surprise he promptly obliged and they filled a glass for me and the whole group toasted to my race. Man, that felt good.

Today it was quite hot and I ran 10.5 miles in the hills. That after having spent three hours this morning working in the sun. I was quite dehydrated. I drank several cups of water, all of which tasted so-so, some nuun, which tastes better, and even a Rockstar energy drink. But nothing really satisfied my thirst or ended my craving. In the end, I drank a beer and that really hit the spot. It was just amazing really how good it felt.

Cheers to all of you! Keep up the good work.

Pacing

Here is my pace chart from Boston. The bars show my speed in every 5k/3.1mi segment. The last segment is only 2.2k/1.3 mi long. The differences are accentuated because the X axis starts at 6.8mph. The yellow graph shows the moving average. 8mph translates to 3:16:30. I did 3:22:21. I dropped below 8 at 16 miles (2 hours).

As you can see my speed first increased and then dropped as the race progressed. The much lower speeds in bins 6 and 7 are due to the infamous Newton hills. Without those hills I probably would gone smoothly from 7.81 to 7.53, without a dip. Still, the decline is real. I attribute it to the fact that I did not include any long runs in my training. The longest run I did this year, prior to Boston, was at 13.4 miles.

Ideally speaking one would need a flat graph. Some people that ended up running a 3:16 ran even with me in the beginning, but they kept their pace to the end.

I do remind the reader that my objective is not to run marathons. I use marathons to train for ironman races. If I really trained for the marathon I would probably be able to hold my speed better. That is why I think I could run a 3:15. But it would take a whole lot more training -especially long runs- to do that. Right now, this is training for Lake Placid in July.

Things I learned: shoes

Here is another thing I learned. When selecting shoes, buy a light "neutral" shoe and run in it. Even if you or anyone else thinks your alignment is off. Unless you wear orthotics every day, and you have a well-established problem that needs correction, buy a neutral shoe. I know because my alignment is off. It is way off. It is so far off that several runners told me I would never become a distance runner.

Want some more proof? Here is a picture of two running shoes. The one on the left is one of my first shoes. I ran in it for about 300 miles. You don't need to be an expert to see that the shoe is worn in a bizarre way. My earlier shoes were even worse. I strike with the side of my heel and it shows. I had plenty of problems too. My first marathon I had a pretty bad psoas (groin muscle) problem and I had to walk 5 miles to finish. I have had knee and hip pain on and off. I usually get blisters on my feet. All these things have improved but they are still there. Especially when I don't train enough.

But I learned one thing: most matters are self-correcting. Not totally so, as you can see from the other shoe, a more recent one, and one I ran almost 1,000 miles in (I ran Boston with that shoe and had no problems). You have to look closer to see the wear pattern on that one, although it is still obvious. But the first shoe would never have lasted for a 1,000+ miles.

What you can't see very well is the left shoe is worn asymmetrically in front as well, whereas the right one is not.

I can tell you that my gait has improved significantly as well. And it all happened automatically because I kept running. No magic here!

So, forget about what the store people tell you. Forget about "types" of shoes. The best "type" of shoe is a light shoe. The lighter the better, because nothing matters more in running than weight. You need over 40,000 strides to run a marathon, and so you have to lift that shoe for over 40,000 times. Think about that before you buy.

Never buy a special shoe unless you have run for at least six months and problems develop that steadily get worse. Problems in this case are objective problems such as swelling, inflammation, etc. Pain is normal and some amount of pain should not deter you. Especially if you are late to the party like I was. If you have been running since childhood and develop pain, that is another matter. But if you start out late in life, you will suffer. There is no way around it. Even Lance Amstrong had to deal with shin splints.

There is a tendency for people to run to the doctor as soon as something hurts. Or to try to fix things quickly. And not surprisingly a whole army of "experts" stands at the ready to help. Ignore them! They don't know what they are talking about. Chances are they will make your problem worse.

Supporting a weak link will prevent adaptation. It may make the problem worse or shift it elsewhere. Your first response to minor issues should be to RUN MORE. Not right then and there of course, but after some relative rest. The cure for most problems is, more miles.

Listen to the coach

Read this in a recent publication. Advice for parents whose kids want to do triathlons. Get the right gear was the title. For the "RUN: A pair of good fitting running shoes. I recommend you spend the money for good shoes; it's cheaper than knee surgery later."

Wait a minute? Who said there is a connection between (bad) running shoes and knee injuries, requiring surgery? And what exactly are "good shoes?" I suspect most parents will read expensive shoes. Better buy expensive shoes for junior lest we have to pay for knee surgery later. The run-barefoot people would disagree.

Just an update on my recent activities:

Wed 3/18: 10.5 mile hilly run. Up Shepherd Canyon.

Thu 3/19: 7 mile run in the hills, at tempo

Fri 3/20: 1.5 mile swim. I was getting tired.

Sat 3/21: took Alistair to Sacramento for a race. Rode 40 minutes on rollers afterwards.

Sun 3/22: 8 mile run, over Grandview to backside trail.

Mon 3/23: 32 mile bike ride with the Specialized.

Today: 8 mile run, up Broadway Terrace to Skyline and back.

45 miles so far

This is proving harder than I thought. I have never run every day for seven days in a row, let alone run fast (fast for me that is). I am running this whole exercise on the treadmill just to make sure I keep the pace. That works out just fine because the weather outside is miserable and wet.

Yesterday I forgot to bring my running shoes so I ran in my tennis shoes. They felt much heavier and maybe because of it, I ran slower. I finished a little over 7.9 miles in the first hour and had to work pretty hard to stay there. Overall, I ran 9.2 miles. No problems with my knees but I ended up with a pretty big blood blister on the bottom of my left little toe. I punctured it and lots of blood came out. But overnight it filled again.

Today, I squeezed some more liquid out of the blister and cut away the skin and covered it with a band-aid. So far so good. I ran 8 miles in the first hour and continued to run 9 overall. I am now 45 miles into my 100K (63 mile) week. I can definitely feel it in my calves now.

Although it was hard, I managed to run faster than yesterday and I ran the second half at 8.2 mph and the final 10 minutes at 8.4 mph. Just fast enough to finish 8 miles in one hour. The first two days I ran 8.2 to 8.25 in an hour.

When I was finished I noticed that my left heel had a rubbing spot where the skin was gone. It was bloody. Blood had seeped through my sock and stained both my sock and my shoes. I only noticed this later and although it hurt in the shower, I had not been aware of it before.

I have been checking my weight post run and I lose about 2 pounds every time I do this. But no cramps, so far that is. Two more days to go.

Treadmill test

After not running for more than a week I was curious how it would feel to run 8 miles. Since the weather was only so-so, I felt it would be good to go on the treadmill and check up on things. There are very few flat courses where I live and none starts from our house so there was added incentive to do a treadmill test.

I started out slowly running an 8 minute pace for a mile or so. Last time I went on the treadmill after a long break I had started out running 7:30 miles, which is fast for me, and I ended up with a calf injury. Better safe than sorry. 

I gradually increased my speed until I ran 8.4 mph or a 7:09 pace. Then I kicked it up a few notches until I to a 6:58 pace. That way I was able to run 8.25 miles in one hour, which is pretty decent for me. I added a 5 minute cool down for a total of 8.8 miles or 1/3rd of a marathon. All the while I felt pretty good and I had no problems whatsoever. That is quite reassuring given how close the Boston marathon is. I plan to run more from now until mid April in preparation for the race.  

My goal is to qualify again for 2010 so I can run another marathon next year. Three is a charm they say and I would like to run Boston three times. A Boston qualifier also gets me into New York and I am toying with the idea of running NY this year or maybe next. We will see how things develop.

A trip to the capital

Just got back from a three day trip to Washington DC. I did not get much training in, unless you count all the walking I did from one side of the Capitol to the other. I spent all day Monday flying to DC and arrived just in time to check into the hotel and go to dinner. Then I ate and drank too much.

On Tuesday I had to wake up very early for the briefing, but fortunately I only needed to make two stops on the Capitol so I did spend some time in the hotel gym. I rode for 60 minutes on a stationary bike, burning -according to that brand of bike- 600 calories. The number sounds more reasonable. I rode at a steady pace while watching TV. Afterwards I ran for half an hour on the treadmill, supposedly adding another 400 calories. In the evening I blew it all away with another dinner and plenty of drinks.

Wednesday was not so good. Someone apparently noticed that my schedule was too light and I got straddled with a continuous string of meetings. Not only that but I had to run from the house side to the senate side between every meeting. That adds a lot of walking right there. If you are unfamiliar with the workings of government this may sound like gibberish, but anyone who has spent time lobbying for legislation will know what I mean.

Rayburn to Hart, to Cannon, to Hart, to Cannon, to Dirksen, to Hart and Cannon again. Just look a map of congressional office buildings and you will see. I started at 9 and finished just 3. Just in time to take a taxi, hop on the plane and fly back. It was 10:30 when I got back last night. It was cold and rainy in San Francisco. For some odd reason, the whole time I was in DC, the weather was mid-60s and sunny.

Sunny and crisp

Yesterday was a photographer's dream. It was sunny and the Bay was so clear you felt like you could touch the city from the Oakland Hills. The kids were off from school, not sure why, but they were. Alistair and I went on a mountain bike ride in Redwood and Chabot. We rode a good 30 miles, going out Redwood east to Pinehurst and Bort. Then riding the single track on the Meadow to the Stone bridge and back. Then up on McDonald, Redwood west and on to Sibley.

We decided to go down Sibley to the other side of Old Tunnel. They recently opened the trail for bicycles and it is a nice bumpy descent. Near the bottom it was quite muddy and there were a few creek crossings filled with water. Quite fun. Then we noticed you could go up the old road into Sibley -no cars, but bikes and pedestrians are OK. Although I had never done it, it sounded better than riding Fish Ranch.

The road goes up for quite a while and then links to the trials that go to the mazes. So we added another 1.5-2.0 miles and a whole bunch of climbing that way.

Today, it was a bit warmer still so I decided to go for a long run. I ran to Montclair and then up Shepherd. I added a little extra at the end for a good 11 miles. I haven't done this run for a while and it showed. By the end of it my legs were quite tired. It is not just the distance, there is a serious amount of climbing too. And some of it is quite steep. It took me about 1.5 hrs. 

I will start working on my running more to prepare for Boston. I would love to run a 3:15 or better, but anything that qualifies me for next year is Ok with me. We'll see how it goes. I will probably go to Europe before Boston and in two weeks I am going to DC. The travel could mess up my schedule, but so could the weather for that matter. We'll see how it goes.