April 22, 2006

53:21/154

3 x 1600 m repeats at the track in Pontcharra. 5:58, 5:57, 5:57. I'm not in the same shape I was in last summer, when I could run these faster almost easily. Right shin hurts. This coming week I'm going to take it easy.

Posted by Mark at 11:43 AM | TrackBack

April 21, 2006

1:10:37/167

Rode harder than I initially intended to, but not too far. The weather was warm. Since I could go mid-afternoon today, I rode in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.

This heart rate is artificially high, though perhaps not by a lot. I saw the monitor giving strange readings (202, 199, etc.) at the outset of the ride.

Worked some of the time on maintaining a high cadence in an attempt to get smoother. My form starts to deteriorate at cadences higher than 120. That, and my weak legs, no doubt explain why I'm not a power rider. The fastest I could sprint down the hill outside Goncelin was 74.3 kph (46.2 mph). Track riders do better than that on the flats.

Posted by Mark at 06:19 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

April 20, 2006

54:24/153

This was a relatively easy run around Pontcharra, but I was dragging. The weather's nice again today.

I'm finding it difficult to deal with tired, wooden legs and the feeling that I cannot get going. My right shin hurt when I finished, too. Not a good sign.

Maybe I need to bite the bullet and quit running or cycling hard for a whole week. Perhaps I could compensate by working upper body muscles instead. Trouble is I'd be sore after one good session.

Posted by Mark at 02:24 PM | TrackBack

April 19, 2006

49:55/155

Another nice day. My legs are still dead and sore. I went cycling. The odometer says I went precisely 26 km.

Posted by Mark at 06:40 PM | TrackBack

April 18, 2006

36:47/156

Ran over to Chapareillan and back. The inner side of my right shin still has not recovered yet.

Posted by Mark at 10:48 AM | TrackBack

April 17, 2006

1:17:53/153

Today was beautiful for cycling. I went this morning, feeling tired. My legs felt dead. Guess I need to back off somewhat for another week.

This ride was up to Chambery and back. Don't think I've ever seen so many cyclists. Several times I had to slow down as there were too many people out to pass. Had my legs felt good I'd've gone for longer, or for a climb.

Heart rate on the bike is definitely lower than on foot. 153 bpm average feels like 160 running. Perhaps that's also because my legs are weak and sore.

Posted by Mark at 08:16 PM | TrackBack

April 15, 2006

40:47/145

Went down to the track in Pontcharra and did 6 x 200 m as hard as possible with 400 m slow jogging to recover in between. My legs are still not fully recovered, and I felt tired, as if I couldn't quite make it to my maximum. Maybe I'm coming down with Emma's cold now.

Posted by Mark at 06:01 PM | TrackBack

April 14, 2006

1:13:09/150

Rode home from work after taking the train in this morning. The MTB is definitely heavier. Was tired when I got home.

Posted by Mark at 08:19 PM | TrackBack

April 13, 2006

46:04/151

Up to Rochasson with Phil and Jerome, which was pretty easy for me at that speed. Then they continued on to Corenc, so I came back down alone, working on my downhill form. Maybe that's not so good, as my legs took a kind of pounding.

Posted by Mark at 01:18 PM | TrackBack

April 12, 2006

1:47:39/155

Off today to pick Mom and Dana up from the airport. I got to ride for a while. Legs still very tired today. Had a headwind coming back. At one point I was really forcing it to stay at 20 mph (32 kph) down a 3-4% grade.

Posted by Mark at 08:22 PM | TrackBack

April 10, 2006

21:36/141

Recovery run in the rain on sore legs. My right leg is giving me the same problem that cropped up just before injury. Guess my body cannot take this much training compared to the recovery.

Matt suggested I back off and ride for a while to get off my feet. His wife ran herself over the limit in 2004 and it took her months to get back into good shape.

Posted by Mark at 03:08 PM | TrackBack

April 08, 2006

1:55:15/155

A bunch of 1s and 5s. Ran four big laps around Pontcharra. The last lap felt tough. Haven't run that far in a while, and yesterday's speedwork left me with stiff, slightly sore legs from the first step. These days are the nicest running days of the year, though. Need to get out and enjoy them before it gets too warm.

The marketing organization from the Paris half-marathon sent me a diploma that arrived yesterday with a questionnaire. Nathalie looked at it, then asked me whether she ought to frame it. She already did that with my computer science diploma. I came home one day and it was hanging over my desk. After that I made sure to hide my other diplomas. Here's the one from the race, since it'll fall off the front page after a couple of days:

paris-half-marathon-2006.jpg

Tim ought to run races like that. He'd really be happy to get all the marketing goodies they hand out. Medals, diplomas, T-shirts, sacks with sponsors' logos, and so forth.

Posted by Mark at 01:45 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 07, 2006

1:01:58/165

5 x 1 km with warmup and cool down. Splits were 3:32, 3:35, 3:38, 3:41, 3:38.

Posted by Mark at 03:02 PM | TrackBack

April 06, 2006

37:45/121

Easy recovery jog with Karine and Phil.

Posted by Mark at 02:24 PM | TrackBack

April 05, 2006

32:38/141

Up to Montbonnot and back down with Phil. He was in a hurry, so we didn't go very far.

Posted by Mark at 02:21 PM | TrackBack

April 04, 2006

43:53/167

This started off as a jog, then morphed into a tempo run. Too angry to do a tempo run. At the halfway point I ran as hard as I could get myself to go until it hurt enough that I didn't feel angry anymore. Then recovered until the anger came back and sprinted again. Felt rough at the end, but slightly calmer.

Posted by Mark at 02:27 PM | TrackBack

April 03, 2006

32:01/154

This heart rate seems wrong. Still in bad shape.

Posted by Mark at 12:52 PM | TrackBack

April 01, 2006

48:56

Body exhausted. Thoughts toxic. Time to rest.

Posted by Mark at 07:30 PM | TrackBack

March 31, 2006

54:14/133

Easy recovery run. It was a beautiful day, so about 6 of us went out for a jog.

Posted by Mark at 04:17 PM | TrackBack

March 30, 2006

51:15/148

Steady rain today. Jogged over to the track and ran 6 x 100 m repeats at top speed with almost two minutes in between. The first was in a little over 17 s, the middle four between 16 and 17, and the last in just under 16.

My aim is to improve running efficiency. Yet 100 m repeats are very short. I only ran 6 because my form was starting to go in the last one. Don't want to practice bad form.

Posted by Mark at 01:21 PM | TrackBack

March 29, 2006

23:02/136

Short recovery run chatting with Phil.

Posted by Mark at 12:26 PM | TrackBack

March 28, 2006

48:19/163

Tempo run with a long trailing cool down. Worked hard in the middle (177-183 bpm from the hill below St. Ismier over to Montbonnot). Legs felt better than yesterday.

Posted by Mark at 12:46 PM | TrackBack

March 27, 2006

31:10/138

Gentle 4 mi recovery jog. Legs sore. There's a refreshing cool breeze blowing.

Posted by Mark at 12:52 PM | TrackBack

March 26, 2006

36:57/183

This was the Cross de Montbonnot that I mentioned last week. It turned out to be 9.2 km. We ran along tractor ruts and through mud for part of it, which is I guess necessary if you're going to call it a cross (as in cross-country).

The weather's beautiful today, almost too warm. My legs felt sore and stiff as I jogged to warm up. Almost hurt something in my right hamstring doing strides to loosen muscles.

At the start of the run, we all just gathered together in a big mob behind what seemed to me an arbitrary point on the community soccer field. But I'd seen where I needed to go, and except for the tractor ruts, it was places I've run often before. Basically we ran down to the Isère and along the path there, then zigzagged back up to the soccer field, near where Stu and I sometimes run hill reps, which is behind the town hall.

On this sort of short race, I knew I had to run hard. Only after the tractor ruts did I feel that sort of burn in my gut that you get when you're building up too much lactate. My mind wandered a bit. Near the end I was concentrating, however. One of the women standing at a turn guiding us, said in my direction, "Where are all the women?" I thought, None of them are oafish enough to come out here and run like silly brutes. Yet I didn't have the breath to say that to her.

I caught the guy just in front of me on the last hill. Either he didn't do enough hill repeats in practice, or the long runs are paying off for me. There were only 300-400 m left, so I just put the hammer down. They had a clock out near the finish, too. I got to sprint as the seconds were ticking off towards 37:00. I thought, Shucks, I'm slow, and gave it what I had left.

Need to work on pacing and concentration, and I need to get faster. This was 4:01/km, way too slow. Muddy tractor ruts notwithstanding, I'm far off the goal pace.

Posted by Mark at 10:36 AM | TrackBack

March 24, 2006

33:42/149

Short run today with a few raindrops. Tired, and had lunch planned with Stu, Luke, and Rob, since Luke is in town and I owed him one. I'm exhausted anyway, so it's no doubt better to take it easy.

Posted by Mark at 08:24 PM | TrackBack

March 23, 2006

52:18/157

Tired and listless. Very busy at work. Up to St. Ismier, across to Montbonnot, down the back way. The important workouts this week are the speedwork on Tuesday and the race Sunday morning.

Posted by Mark at 01:56 PM | TrackBack

March 22, 2006

37:49/159

Overheated, being too heavily dressed to run 8 km. Now the sky has clouded over. Legs were tired.

Posted by Mark at 04:49 PM | TrackBack

March 21, 2006

1:10:18/162

The heart rate monitor was flaky at the start of the workout. This was a warmup over to the track, 6 x 1 km in 3:37 to 3:43, and a cool down jogging back.

For each kilometer, I took a total of 6 minutes including recovery jogging. Am not in shape to run 10 km in 37:30 (3:45/km) yet, but this effort seemed slightly easier than Monday last week. The difference is no doubt 100% psychological.

Posted by Mark at 03:32 PM | TrackBack

March 20, 2006

30:02/146

Jogged up to Montbonnot and back down with Phil and Luke. Nice day. We were all overdressed.

Posted by Mark at 04:24 PM | TrackBack

March 18, 2006

Cross de Montbonnot

There was a two-hour run in Grenoble that I missed this morning. The children didn't have school, and Nath was working.

Next Sunday is the Cross de Montbonnot in the town where I work. There's a 9 km race. Haven't run a race that short in a long time. I'm going to check with Nath and see if she minds. Maybe I could convince Tim or Emma to do the 1 km race.

Posted by Mark at 05:59 PM | TrackBack

1:38:02/148

My legs hurt from the speedwork yesterday. They felt tighter than normal. In fact they hurt before I went out, even when I was lying down. When I got out, it took half an hour of jogging to get everything in order. My brochial tubes feel like someone cleaned them with a wire brush.

According to Greg McMillan's calculator and my half marathon time from Paris earlier this month, I ran a bit harder than necessary for those sprint workouts. I could run those 250 m repeats as slowly as 53 seconds and still get the benefits of a sprint workout. That's 29% slower than my fastest lap Friday.

It could be that I'm training too stupidly, that I could do better when racing if I'd focus less on quantity and more on quality, perhaps reducing not only the speed at which I train on easy days, but also the total training volume. I'm nagged with feelings of not doing nearly enough. Yet I don't have world-class natural ability or will power, nor am I going to get it through training. Need to find a way to do more with less.

Posted by Mark at 04:57 PM | TrackBack

March 17, 2006

59:22/157

Speedwork today at the track in Meylan. 7 x 250 m. Splits in seconds were 45, 43, 42, 43, 44, 44, 41. The first time I rested 1:15, meaning a total of 2 minutes for the run and rest. Thereafter, I rested until 3 minutes had elapsed since the start of the repeat.

This pace is fast for me. There's still a metallic taste in the back of my mouth.

Posted by Mark at 02:08 PM | TrackBack

March 16, 2006

27:34/167

6.5 km (about 4 mi). My heart rate seems high for that speed and distance. Still feel sluggish.

Posted by Mark at 02:02 PM | TrackBack

March 15, 2006

1:03:00/159

Lacked energy today, so I stopped after only 63 minutes. It was bright again, and warmer than yesterday. Had to tuck my hat into my waistband.

Posted by Mark at 02:17 PM | TrackBack

March 14, 2006

29:01/156

Easy day, bright and cold. I ran around the 3 km loop, then ran around the 4 km loop, skipping the run back to the parking lot and out again in the middle.

Posted by Mark at 01:39 PM | TrackBack

March 13, 2006

1:04:59/152

Today the air is still cool for the season. I wore my hat and gloves. Yet the sun was out. Very bright.

Now that the Paris half marathon is behind me, I'm starting speedwork. Last Friday was the first speedwork outing. My hope is to run two per week, one being longer repeats, the other being shorter sprints, perhaps intervals.

Today I ran 5 x 1 km repeats at just under race pace, which is 3:45/km. My first was in 3:40. My last was in 3:39. All the repeats were between 3:39 and 3:43. I'm still a long way away from being able to keep that pace up for 10 continuous kilometers.

A nice feature of the track over at the junior high school is how it's not near a road. It's quiet. You can focus on the work. Another feature is that it's about 15-20 minutes from work, enough time to warm up and cool down properly.

My heart seems to be in better shape than my legs. Each time I'd finish and jog, it'd take less than a 250-meter lap for my heart to be back at a pulse of 130-135. My legs on the other hand were starting to get tired near the end. They felt sore starting out.

Posted by Mark at 02:20 PM | TrackBack

March 11, 2006

1:42:56/157

Legs were tired from the outset. At the bottom of the hill in front of our house, it felt like I'd run out of gas. Had to get out and push.

Out of curiosity I listened to SBaGen-created, out-of-tune sine waves the whole way. Seems to have made no noticeable difference, except that I felt like closing my eyes sometimes.

Posted by Mark at 11:03 AM | TrackBack

March 10, 2006

50:21/162

Ran over to a nearby track 20 minutes away. It's red asphalt. I think it measures 250 meters. Ran 6 hard repeats with a lap in between each. Then jogged back into the rain, finishing under a storm of tiny hailstones.

Noakes's book, Lore of Running, has me thinking now is the time to add speedwork for more efficient running this season. Potentially I could reduce my second long run of the week, and replace some of the quality with speedwork.

Posted by Mark at 01:17 PM | TrackBack

March 09, 2006

17:48/172

Quick run before lunch to stretch the legs. It suddenly got warm today.

Posted by Mark at 03:00 PM | TrackBack

March 08, 2006

1:20:04/163

Ran up through St. Ismier, then Montbonnot, then decided to add a loop up to Corenc. I came back down through Montbonnot. Initially I was thinking of extending the run to 90 minutes, but was getting cold in the rain.

Posted by Mark at 02:05 PM | TrackBack

March 07, 2006

37:59/163

8 km tempo run. Cool and windy. Started out with Joanne and Nigel.

Posted by Mark at 03:38 PM | TrackBack

March 06, 2006

30:18/152

Recovery 6 1/4 km run with Phil. Lots of cold wind out there today. Plenty of mud, too.

Posted by Mark at 01:36 PM | TrackBack

March 05, 2006

1:33:02/183

mark-20060305.jpg Paris half-marathon today. The temperature when we hopped in the car to drive across Paris at 8 am was -5 C (23 F). I ended up overdressing with neck warmer, hat, gloves, undershirt, plus my winter jogging clothes.

The temperature rose even as 10 am rolled around. I finished carrying my gloves, sleeves rolled back, hat and neck warmer stuffed down the front of my tights. Was overheating whether the sun was out.

Was glad to have all that clothing when I stopped. Immediately got cold and shivered until we finally got into Luke's car about 2 hours later.

My average hear rate, 183, is outrageously high if my max. is still about 194-195. I'm more out of shape than I thought, and my roughly half marathon circuit I run on Saturday mornings must be significantly shorter than 21.1 km. Perhaps it's only 20.

three-runners-20060305.jpg

Posted by Mark at 10:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 03, 2006

Heavy rain coming, part II

According to Luke, the weather in Paris leaves something to be desired.

Dunno what it's like in the Gresivaudan valley this AM, but Paris is like smthg from the point of no return 4 or 5 hours into a Cecille B DeMille epic, just after God decides that he's had enough of the iniquities anmd transgressions of his people. It is raining fire, brimstone, locusts, frogs and swords of ice. Sodomites and adulterers are sponteneously combusting and although it is very, very dark, I discerned one woman turning into a pillar of salt.

Metcheck just has little falling swastikas coming out of angry looking clouds.
If it's like this on Sunday, it'll be ugly.

As mentioned the other day, we're running Sunday morning.

Posted by Mark at 11:32 AM | TrackBack

March 02, 2006

31:29/142

Easy jog with Phil.

Posted by Mark at 01:15 PM | TrackBack

March 01, 2006

48:36/157

Up to St. Ismier and back around. Some snowflakes in the air.

Posted by Mark at 02:24 PM | TrackBack

February 28, 2006

New shoes, same as the old shoes

Got a new pair of ASICS Gel 1100 shoes today, my old two pairs having lost most of their cushion. Funny to run in new shoes.

I did not realize that ASICS stands for Anima Sana In Corpore Sano, which is translated on my shoebox as Sound Mind Sound Body.

Wikipedia.org says theirs is a variation on mens sana in corpore sano:

Over time, the phrase has come to mean that only a healthy body can produce or sustain a healthy mind.

The phrase is taken from a longer sentence, "Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano," which may be translated: "You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body," which is a very different thing than the current meaning above.

Good point.

Posted by Mark at 07:22 PM | TrackBack

37:32

No heartrate for this one. Didn't have the strap that fits over my chest. My avg. pulse must've been approximately like the other day.

Posted by Mark at 01:33 PM | TrackBack

February 27, 2006

30:24/152

Easy pace around the 6 1/4 km route with Phil and Nigel.

Posted by Mark at 02:24 PM | TrackBack

February 25, 2006

1:37:16/164

Usual Saturday morning distance. A nice day to run, but my legs are tired.

Posted by Mark at 03:10 PM | TrackBack

February 24, 2006

41:15/159

Jogged over to Chapareillan and back. Not sure why my heart rate is so high for such a slow run. Must be the hills.

Posted by Mark at 10:21 AM | TrackBack

February 23, 2006

22:47/145

This was me running at the track with Tim. He wanted to prove he could run 1 km quickly. We ran the first km together (6:43), then I ran 4 x 400 m repeats in less than 90 seconds each, taking an easy lap in between.

It's been a long time since I've run on the track. My legs are tired this week. At the end of each lap even an approx. 6 min/mile pace felt like hard work. Compared to my winter long run plod speed, 6 min/mi is hard work. According to Greg McMillian's calculator, I should be running 10 to 20 seconds per lap faster when doing 400 m in earnest. 1600 m repeats should take me about 5:40 or 5:50 a piece.

Taking it too easy has made me lazy. I've forgotten what it's like to make an effort. Took me 3 1/2 laps to find a compact rhythm with more efficient form.

Tim didn't want to run after the first km. We could only stay another 15 minutes before he started getting bored. He was proud of himself, however, and considers his performance today indicative of superior fitness. He says he's ready for the kids' race in Pontcharra this fall, and probably the olympics soon thereafter.

Posted by Mark at 02:24 PM | TrackBack

February 22, 2006

1:30:55/146

Not much motivation. Dead legs.

Posted by Mark at 07:54 PM | TrackBack

February 21, 2006

1:17:24/146

Going up the valley towards La Rochette turned out to be a mistake. Where the sun doesn't shine for more than an hour or so per day, the frost had still not lifted even at 11:30 am. Ended up turning around partly from discomfort (I hadn't worn a hat), partly to make it home for noon.

Posted by Mark at 04:39 PM | TrackBack

February 20, 2006

37:19/168

Tempo run to Chapareillan and back. Easy warm up and cool down. Ran hard up the hill on the way back. Top heart rate was about 94-95% of theoretical max.

Posted by Mark at 10:16 AM | TrackBack

February 18, 2006

1:34:37/163

Another Saturday, same distance. This was a late morning run after the rain, just before lunch. I picked up the pace somewhat.

Ought to buy new shoes soon. The two pair I've had since early last summer are worn enough to feel it.

Posted by Mark at 03:41 PM | TrackBack

February 17, 2006

37:40/137

Easy jog with Nigel.

Posted by Mark at 02:18 PM | TrackBack

February 16, 2006

49:07/168

Up to St. Ismier and back down through Montbonnot. Ran fairly hard but felt slow and tired today.

Posted by Mark at 08:16 PM | TrackBack

February 15, 2006

47:02/128

Slow jog with Phil. He was as tired as I was. I'm kept up by Diane. He's kept up by bugs in the code.

Posted by Mark at 05:40 PM | TrackBack

February 14, 2006

1:14:13/133

Good long jog with Stu. Lovely day to run.

Posted by Mark at 01:55 PM | TrackBack

February 13, 2006

41:53/155

Up to Rochasson and back down on the road past the church. It seems to be warmer this week than last.

Posted by Mark at 02:22 PM | TrackBack

February 11, 2006

1:40:01/155

...and now back to our regularly scheduled program. Ran the 3 extended laps around Pontcharra starting from home that make for roughly half-marathon distance.

Unpleasantly cold starting out, as it was a very clear night. The scenery was particularly impressive however, with the mountains starkly defined against the blue sky.

Posted by Mark at 10:29 AM | TrackBack

February 10, 2006

47:55/165

Uphill to St. Ismier, then across through Montbonnot and back down.

Posted by Mark at 02:42 PM | TrackBack

February 09, 2006

1:23:19/161

Nath suggested I should take a sleeping pill, so I took melatonin. The after effects aren't too awful, and last only a couple of hours after I wake up for good. Still woke up a couple of times during the night, but managed to fall asleep again.

I ran the first few km with Stu, Joanne, and Phil, then sped up a bit and finished 18 km, feeling better than I did yesterday. After a run like that I generally feel straightened out, probably a sign of endorphin addiction.

Posted by Mark at 03:44 PM | TrackBack

February 08, 2006

19:42/152

Better than nothing is good enough.

Posted by Mark at 05:44 PM | TrackBack

February 07, 2006

31:21/151

Had a hard time getting started. Ran with Joanne uphill to the national road, across through Montbonnot, and back down.

Posted by Mark at 06:19 PM | TrackBack

February 06, 2006

1:04:41/170

Kept the tempo up, but felt sluggish. I've lost some of my edge, if I ever had one. I sincerely hope this was more than 14 km.

Posted by Mark at 02:57 PM | TrackBack

February 03, 2006

40:31/163

Rochasson, pushing it fairly hard going up, since I felt cold. Came down the long way.

Posted by Mark at 03:16 PM | TrackBack

February 02, 2006

45:45/161

Tim would rather spend the afternoon with his friend Florent than with his dad after all. So I started out running with Tim biking alongside me. I had to push him up hills, then race to catch him going down.

After dropping Tim off at Florent's house, I picked up the pace to make it a sort of tempo run over to Chapareillan and back.

Posted by Mark at 03:03 PM | TrackBack

February 01, 2006

33:14/142

Another slow jog with Phil.

Posted by Mark at 02:39 PM | TrackBack

January 31, 2006

56:18/135

Gentle jog around the lake with Stu and Joanne.

Posted by Mark at 05:40 PM | TrackBack

January 30, 2006

33:39/152

Gentle jog with Phil. Something's wrong. I've been exhausted all day.

Posted by Mark at 05:43 PM | TrackBack

January 28, 2006

1:42:24/156

Felt like burnt toast from the first step, but figured I should get one long run in this week. So I took it easy.

This morning when I woke up my throat was slightly sore and my ears stuffed up. It took about an hour to become fully awake. During the night Diane was coughing off and on. She's also been having the same kind of night terrors Tim had last year, right as we're trying to go to bed. Hope she gets well soon.

Posted by Mark at 10:32 AM | TrackBack

January 27, 2006

28:16/175

Felt okay once I got out there. This was uphill through Montbonnot and back down.

Posted by Mark at 02:04 PM | TrackBack

January 26, 2006

28:18/127

Gentle recovery jog around Montbonnot. Set out with Phil, Karine, Nigel, and Jerome, but ran with Karine when we split up. I'm basically taking this week off, until I feel good again.

Posted by Mark at 01:06 PM | TrackBack

January 25, 2006

33:18/135

Easy jog with Nigel this noon. Too tired to do real training.

Posted by Mark at 02:59 PM | TrackBack

January 24, 2006

31:48/133

6 1/4 km recovery run with Phil. We started with Stu, but he went further.

Posted by Mark at 01:32 PM | TrackBack

January 23, 2006

1:06:55/163

This was only about 14-14.5 km. I guess I'm tired. Hard at the beginning and hard at the end, but not for long.

Posted by Mark at 06:03 PM | TrackBack

January 22, 2006

100-105 km this week

Nath asked me after lunch if I wanted to run this afternoon. I said probably not. Tim and Emma went with me to play soccer at the field in Barraux this morning, and my legs were still tired and stiff. She wondered how far I went.

Without dragging out a map wheel and maps, I don't know exactly, but based on the times, heart rates, and what I do know, it looks like 100-105 km over the last 6 days. Maybe I should go try to beat Dana's family record of 70 miles (almost 113 km) in 7 days.

Nath figured all that running around in circles was pointless. I could've gotten somewhere had I gone in a straight line.

Posted by Mark at 01:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 21, 2006

2:16:14/153

Ran 30k around Pontcharra. By the end my legs were feeling wooden. Evening was falling as I finished. I watched as the clouds poured down over the ridge that separates us from the Chartreuse.

Posted by Mark at 08:12 PM | TrackBack

January 20, 2006

46:24/173

Didn't have much time this noon, so I ran hard. Uphill over to St. Ismier, then across through to Montbonnot and back down. Hope it was more than 10 km ;-)

Posted by Mark at 07:52 PM | TrackBack

January 19, 2006

1:09:25/162

Started out slow with Stu, Joanne, and Nigel. We'd barely gone a couple of miles when they decided to turn back. Don't feel very good today.

Posted by Mark at 01:59 PM | TrackBack

January 18, 2006

1:40:01/156

Started out with Phil. Ran around most of the 12 km circuit, but found it too muddy. Then went up hill to St. Ismier, back down through Montbonnot to the edge of Meylan and back to work.

Probably should go further. 100 minutes isn't long enough. The real training effect (or at least the perceived discomfort level) seems to increase significantly at about 105. Then I should probably run another 30-60 minutes to get real good from the workout. But it's tough to find the time.

Posted by Mark at 06:14 PM | TrackBack

January 17, 2006

Before and after

Voici the before and after photos, showing the influence that running a fair amount each week can eventually have on how fat you are.

before-20060117.jpg after-20060117.jpg

My weight must've been near the max. in the photo on the left. In the photo on the right I'm 5 kg (11 lbs) heavier than when I was married. Leg muscle is compact.

Posted by Mark at 09:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

1:24:26/150

Slow for the first 3/4, harder for the last 1/4. Not sure how far this was.

I started out gently with Stu and Nigel, and it felt so good to have temperatures above freezing that I just kept on jogging.

Posted by Mark at 02:16 PM | TrackBack

January 16, 2006

39:40/123

Very easy recovery run with Phil. This was only something a bit over 7 km.

Posted by Mark at 01:24 PM | TrackBack

January 14, 2006

1:34:50/164

This is me getting into a rut, but I ran the same route again as last week, about half marathon distance. Nath went to work this morning helping a guy with his English lessons. She's also got another student starting later this week, but that will be while the children are in school. The rest of today she's at a framing class.

So I didn't want to go too far or get worn out. Need to be wide awake and relatively unstressed when taking care of the children, lunch, dinner, chores and so forth.

That said, this morning 13 mi was tough. Not because it is hard to run that far at this pace, but because almost the whole time it was so cold I had thoughts of just giving up. Starting out at about 8:35, the air was bitingly cold. My toes were numb soon, and stayed that way for the longest time yet, about 10 km. After that they went numb again twice as I turned into the shade of the mountain.

When I stopped, though I'd just run uphill in -- finally -- some sunshine, ice fell off my neck warmer. This wasn't just a few ice crystals, but multiple dollops of crushed ice.

Posted by Mark at 10:31 AM | TrackBack

January 13, 2006

18:09/174

Ran out of time this morning, had to run fast and not very far.

Posted by Mark at 12:08 PM | TrackBack

January 12, 2006

1:00:20/140

Gently up to Corenc and back down with Jerome, Phil, and Stu. Not as cold as yesterday.

Posted by Mark at 01:43 PM | TrackBack

January 11, 2006

1:51:00/159

Unpleasantly cold and humid. This was only slightly faster than last time, but at 7 bpm lower heart rate on average. Stu reckons it's about 24 km. I couldn't convince either Stu or Luke to run the whole thing with me.

Posted by Mark at 02:08 PM | TrackBack

January 10, 2006

35:55/169

Stu said this is 8 km. I wonder if we measured something wrong. Ran very hard in the middle, but not at the start or the end.

Posted by Mark at 02:09 PM | TrackBack

January 08, 2006

37:07/164

We're having two lunches out this week at work, so I decided to run today rather than tomorrow. Went over to Chapareillan and back to do some hills.

Posted by Mark at 06:31 PM | TrackBack

January 07, 2006

1:41:27/154

The sweat that got through the pores of my running clothes and the fabric of my hat froze into crystals this morning. It took about 8 km to get warmed up.

This was the same route as two weeks ago, more slowly than that run on Christmas Eve, but also more slowly than the previous time, where my average heart rate was 5 beats lower.

Not sure why my heart rate would be faster. Did I eat too much over the holidays? Ran sooner after breakfast? Weather was not as cold? More tired this week? Fighting off a bug?

Posted by Mark at 10:24 AM | TrackBack

January 06, 2006

34:23/141

Jogged up the hill through Montbonnot and back down with Nigel.

Posted by Mark at 02:01 PM | TrackBack

January 05, 2006

49:05/144

Gentle run with Jerome up to Rochasson and back.

Posted by Mark at 01:55 PM | TrackBack

January 04, 2006

1:51:07/166

Not sure how far. It's chilly out there, so to avoid getting cold I ran a little bit more quickly than I might have. Things started to get tough at around 1:46.

Posted by Mark at 02:40 PM | TrackBack

January 03, 2006

28:11/158

6.5 km starting out with Stu, Nigel, and Phil. Ran it as a sort of tempo run with a fast middle.

Posted by Mark at 02:18 PM | TrackBack

January 02, 2006

Next race: half marathon in Paris

Although I still do not have my certificat médical, I signed up for the Paris 1/2 marathon in March, and bought tickets to take the train up there.

Thinking it would be much worse, I got round trip first class tickets on the train for 104 euros. It might be more expensive to drive, and certainly much more of a pain. Strange. Hope I didn't pick some option I'm not eligible for.

Posted by Mark at 11:25 PM | TrackBack

49:40/126

Very slow 8 km with Phil at noon. Very wet but not too cold.

Posted by Mark at 02:31 PM | TrackBack

December 31, 2005

1:30:00/166

Very similar route to Wednesday's, with some extensions. As you can tell from the faster heart rate, I went a bit further in the same amount of time. Ran some of the hills hard both up and down.

The big difference was in the weather. Today it was quite warm for this time of year, perhaps 8-9 C. Had to leave my hat next to the house almost right away.

Posted by Mark at 12:01 PM | TrackBack

December 30, 2005

35:50/153

Desvres probably lies only about 10 mi as the crow flies from the English Channel, so the weather changes often here. This morning for my run the temperature was down around freezing, and the snow was blowing horizontally.

The roads weren't clean at all. Had a hard time finding firm footing without ice underneath the drifting snow. Kept having to blink to see. In the end I ran neither very far, nor very fast.

Posted by Mark at 12:26 PM | TrackBack

December 29, 2005

36:13/153

Just a short run today over the hills around Desvres and out over to Courset. We're going out for lunch to celebrate Colette's 60th birthday a few months late.

Posted by Mark at 10:59 AM | TrackBack

December 28, 2005

1:30:01/151

Inclement weather in and around Desvres this morning. Hard to find clear roads with little traffic, so I ended up sucking down plenty of truck exhaust. One of the better places to go is the Course valley.

Desvres is all hills. At the end of the 90 min, my knees were starting to tire.

Posted by Mark at 01:59 PM | TrackBack

December 26, 2005

1:21:59

Yesterday afternoon I went out on the mountain bike for an hour to get some fresh air. Coming back from the little lake outside Pontcharra, I took the hill up behind La Gache on one of the steepest Barrolin paved roads that disappears into an even tougher trail, strewn with fist-sized smooth stones. As soon as you hit those, it's only a matter of seconds before you have to get off and walk. I managed until the second hairpin. My legs were tired yesterday afternoon after Saturday's fast finish run anyway.

Today I decided to ride instead of run, my normal winter running clothes being packed away for the trip tomorrow. Even my shoes went in the washing machine.

It was about 5 C (41 F) when I set out for Chambéry. I took the route over the hill through St. André and down through Apremont, eventually over to Barberaz before catching the bike trail into Chambéry from the back. I came home through Myans. My legs, which were tight going out, felt like logs returning. There were flurries up in St. André and in town, too.

Average speed was a weak 28.5 kph (17.7 mph). For the last 3 days, we've been eating and drinking like there's no tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 04:06 PM | TrackBack

December 24, 2005

1:33:57/164

Ran harder for the last third of this approx. 21 km route starting from the house and taking the longer loop around Pontcharra three times. This was more than 6 mintues faster than the last time I ran the same route, but my average pulse was 15 bpm higher.

Posted by Mark at 03:25 PM | TrackBack

December 23, 2005

31:19/122

Very gentle jog with Karine and Phil in the late December sunshine. Hope the sun lasts and is out tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 02:06 PM | TrackBack

December 22, 2005

58:08/147

Got cold and uncomfortable running slowly with Jerome and Alejandro. It's freezing out there.

Posted by Mark at 03:31 PM | TrackBack

December 21, 2005

2:00:07/163

Just kept going. Not sure how far. It was only starting truly to get harder near the end. That meant the run was probably starting to do some real good. I was, however, starting to get thirsty, and to develop blisters.

Posted by Mark at 03:15 PM | TrackBack

December 20, 2005

34:08/133

Slow 6 1/2 km, chatting with Phil. Nice day.

Posted by Mark at 02:18 PM | TrackBack

December 19, 2005

24:02/173

6.5 km hard fartlek in sunny, cold weather. Started off with Eric and Karine, but went a different route.

Posted by Mark at 03:26 PM | TrackBack

December 17, 2005

40:26/153

8 km (5 mi) over to Chapareillan and back. Probably slower than I should run, but felt tired. I cannot go to the run in Crolles this afternoon, as Nath's having some friends over, and I'm supposed to be here.

Posted by Mark at 01:12 PM | TrackBack

December 16, 2005

1:30:05/150

3/1 run for 19.6 km around Pontcharra, including three stops to drink and one relatively long wait for a train. (Took today off work.) The cold, humid wind didn't bring snow until I'd almost finished. But it felt cold the whole time.

My legs were wooden and tired. Before setting out, I was thinking of doing another lap to make it 24.5 km. Hal Higdon wrote, "Most coaches feel that once you reach 16 miles, you're in long-run territory." So even a 15-miler wouldn't be enough. Probably should be doing two 26+ km runs per week, but am not sure I'm up to it right now. I've been running and cycling too hard this week, and was too underdressed even with hat and gloves to appreciate any of it today.

Posted by Mark at 01:51 PM | TrackBack

December 15, 2005

38:22/144

7 km recovery run at an easy pace. First half conversationally with other guys. The sun was out today, but not enough to warm things up much. We could see snow on the mountains.

Posted by Mark at 01:52 PM | TrackBack

December 14, 2005

1:20:43/173

In a hurry. Was somewhat overwhelmed at work today.

This was a fairly steady pace from a couple of minutes after I started, running the approx. 18 km route. Starting from a heart rate of about 68 bpm, I spent only 2:25 in the < 85% max. heart rate zone. Will need to go a longer route to reach 90 minutes though, even if I do slow down.

Posted by Mark at 08:23 PM | TrackBack

December 13, 2005

39:09/169

Hard uphill to Rochasson (8 km?). Back down I did something odd to my left shoulder, but it's okay now as far as I can tell.

Posted by Mark at 06:10 PM | TrackBack

December 12, 2005

27:34/167

About 7 km, last ran it in 28:28, curiously with a higher heart rate. If this continues, by summer 2006 I'll be running at light speed with a pulse of 40.

Posted by Mark at 01:38 PM | TrackBack

December 10, 2005

1:40:13/149

Easy pace, roughly 21 km. Cold, but not too uncomfortably so. I didn't drink until I got back but was all right. Mom stayed with Diane.

Posted by Mark at 02:41 PM | TrackBack

December 09, 2005

46:25/150

About 10 km with Nigel and Eric. I ran harder at one point in the middle, but very comfortably most of the time.

Posted by Mark at 01:37 PM | TrackBack

December 08, 2005

35:22/140

A bit of fresh air for 6 km with Joanne up to the N 90 around through Montbonnot and back down again.

Posted by Mark at 04:18 PM | TrackBack

December 07, 2005

1:30:01/160

Hope that was about as far as Sunday's run.

Posted by Mark at 03:41 PM | TrackBack

December 06, 2005

36:34/169

If this really was 8 km, it represents an outrageously high level of effort for the speed. Not sure what happened. It was a very uneven run.

Posted by Mark at 05:31 PM | TrackBack

December 05, 2005

28:28/172

7 km with some relatively hard running once I got going. Still don't feel completely well.

Posted by Mark at 02:20 PM | TrackBack

December 04, 2005

1:30:06/160

A strange 19.6 km (12.2 mi) run this morning. For some reason I couldn't get comfortable until I'd gone about 16 km (10 mi). Then everything clicked and felt fairly good. Ran too fast for about 3 km, adding a couple of sprints, then wound down. I'd've gone further but figured Nathalie might need help getting lunch ready, and wanted to get to the bakery before they ran out of baguette.

Yesterday I bought new cold weather running gear, including a thin insulated top with long arms that have thumb holes at the end. when you put your gloves on, no wrist is exposed at all. The top breathes well, and the bottoms reach down far enough not to ride up over the socks.

If any of you are planning your own line of running sportswear, I still have two tips: 1) Don't put labels inside the clothes. If you need to mention it's machine washable at 30 C, just print that somewhere around the waistband or collar. None of us will care whether someone else can see the information, but we'll appreciate not having scratchy labels. The labels that seem innocuous when you try on the article may be irritating 10 miles later. 2) Guys need insulation around the front and sides of the knees and from the front to the back of the crotch. The rest of the bottoms can be regular spandex, but these parts shouldn't.

Posted by Mark at 04:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 02, 2005

1:24:20/169

It felt like the cold was starting to go away, so I ran about 18 km. But it was harder at this pace than it should've been. One very muddy patch, and the rest of the way after about 6 km breathing harder than I should've been. Knees got too cold as well.

Posted by Mark at 06:18 PM | TrackBack

November 29, 2005

32:07/141

Gentle 6 1/4 km with Joanne, Nigel, and Phil over wet ground.

Posted by Mark at 01:22 PM | TrackBack

November 28, 2005

32:40/165

Back to the station in Gières. Thought I was late leaving work, so I ran fairly hard for these 8 km. It's a drag running in the snow at night. I'm sure 5 heart beats per minute are lost to the stress of feeling like I'm going to twist my ankle, step in a deep puddle, or slip and fall.

When I got to the station I had to take off my hat, gloves, neck warmer, thin windbreaker. The temperature was above freezing. I was a steam machine.

Posted by Mark at 08:10 PM | TrackBack

36:18/157

Jogged into work from the station in Gières. Commuting on foot looks incompatible with what I should be doing in terms of training, unfortunately. After reading up on the subject Saturday and Sunday, I'm planning base training with a focus of two 90+ minute runs per week and almost no speedwork. My aim is to build a solid aerobic base on which to add stamina and speed in the spring and summer.

Posted by Mark at 09:36 AM | TrackBack

November 26, 2005

1:33:44/150

A relatively slow 19.6 km (12.2 mi) run this morning on the frozen streets and sidewalks of Pontcharra. Had to take small steps in spots to avoid falling on the ice.

In fact I did fall down, twice, but not during the run. Both slips were at the train station where I was buying my ticket for next week. I'm thinking of donating a bag of salt to the SNCF.

Posted by Mark at 02:04 PM | TrackBack

November 25, 2005

10:15/159

This was the second part of the run home, from the station in Pontcharra up to the house.

I notice both running times are quicker than the corresponding times to ride the distance in the snow.

Posted by Mark at 08:20 PM | TrackBack

33:47/172

The back roads were still slick with ice and snow, so I ran home. This is the time running to the station next to the university. My heart rate was high for 8 km in this amount of time. I was afraid of sliding on the ice and falling on my knee or something. I was also running through snow for 1/3 of the distance.

Posted by Mark at 08:18 PM | TrackBack

November 24, 2005

53:57/153

Around the lake with Jerome. 11 km total, with the very last km fast. Cold weather.

Posted by Mark at 02:33 PM | TrackBack

November 23, 2005

35:45/147

4 km easy with Phil, then picked up speed for 3 km. Cold day with snow flurries. Not too motivated.

Posted by Mark at 02:42 PM | TrackBack

November 22, 2005

30:54/132

6 1/4 km fun run with Stu. Feeling tired, cold, and sluggish today.

Posted by Mark at 02:08 PM | TrackBack

November 21, 2005

1:04:12/168

A little over 14 km as a tempo run.

Feels like my shoes combined with the current orthotics could be one of the causes of my cramps during the Grenoble marathon. After running the hard part of the tempo run, I had the same painful feeling around the left ankle that preceded the cramps.

Posted by Mark at 02:36 PM | TrackBack

November 19, 2005

1:02:16/160

Started this off as a gentle run around the fields outside La Gache, and gradually sped up. I ran past the frozen tobacco plants four times, each loop being about 3.5 km.

Posted by Mark at 05:04 PM | TrackBack

November 18, 2005

24:23/172

Fairly hard 6 1/4 km, punctuated by a bio break. I felt cold at 12:30 when I ran, so wanted to get it over with.

Posted by Mark at 08:26 PM | TrackBack

November 17, 2005

50:18/164

Ran uphill with Joanne, Stu, Jerome. When I got halfway to Rochasson, I ran hard to Corenc. Good workout.

Posted by Mark at 03:50 PM | TrackBack

November 16, 2005

29:15/151

6 1/4 km jog with Nigel this morning. Taking it fairly easy, but I notice from my heart rate that Nigel runs more quickly than some of my other jogging companions.

Posted by Mark at 12:54 PM | TrackBack

November 15, 2005

44:34/136

Fun run with Eve, Joanne, Phil, and Stu. Very easy after yesterday's harder run.

Posted by Mark at 06:01 PM | TrackBack

November 14, 2005

49:16/167

Ran uphill to Corenc, then back down. I was able to settle into a fairly quick rhythm coming back which was nevertheless not unduly hard on the knees.

Posted by Mark at 02:46 PM | TrackBack

November 13, 2005

1:44:27

It was chilly for a bike ride, 10 C (50 F), this morning, but the sky was clear. I took the route out through Montmélian in the direction, more or less, of Albertville to whatever the place is called where I turn around and come back to La Rochette and Pontcharra. The circuit comes to 53.1 km. My average speed was 30.5 kph (19 mph), but I wasn't careful to ride steady. When my legs felt tired and tight I slowed down. When they felt good I sped up. I did hit 71 kph (44 mph) coming down a big hill. Also met a few cyclists coming the other way, and a pair of them taking it easy up a big hill.

After all that eating we did with Matt and Debra, I probably need to go for a 20 km run this afternoon, too. My legs muscles still feel tired, though. Cycling seems to be a good way to get exercise while my body repairs them.

Posted by Mark at 02:17 PM | TrackBack

November 11, 2005

49:30/164

Ran down the hill and around Pontcharra to the other side, then back the same way. If I remember right, that's a route I found for about 7 mi (11.2 or 11.3 km). My legs felt okay today at this pace, just a little tired.

Posted by Mark at 01:54 PM | TrackBack

November 10, 2005

1:28:01

My brother Matt and I rode the bikes this afternoon to get some fresh air, covering 39.8 km (24.7 mi) on a circuit around through Montmélian, back to Pontcharra, out and back to La Rochette, and back home. It as getting cool near the end. The fall weather's with us, although we've not yet had frost.

Posted by Mark at 08:36 PM | TrackBack

November 08, 2005

29:44/155

Ran a circuit around Montbonnot, starting out with Joanne. Johan couldn't make it at noon, as he had a meeting.

My legs are still in rough shape. But this was short, no doubt in the neighborhood of 4 miles. Maybe it's time to stick to the short runs until my legs are feeling normal.

Posted by Mark at 01:47 PM | TrackBack

November 07, 2005

43:49/175

The distance here is only 10 km. My heart monitor was behaving strangely, so 175 is wrong.

I started at a good pace. It felt good to run again. But by the halfway mark I noticed my legs are still quite sore from the marathon, so I had to slow down. In fact my thighs still hurt even 15 minutes after I've stopped, stretched, and showered. Must continue to take it easy for a while.

Posted by Mark at 01:20 PM | TrackBack

November 06, 2005

1:20:57

Went for a bike ride over to Chambéry and back. (Avg. speed: 29.1 kph aka 18.1 mph) This is the first exercise since Monday night. My body still seems to be repairing itself. Either that or somewhere relatively recently in our family tree there was a giant South American sloth. Wikipedia says:

Sloths move only when necessary and then very slowly: they have about half as much muscle tissue as other animals of similar weight.

My appetite hasn't diminished in the past week, but I don't think I've gained that much weight. Maybe my back tire was flat and I didn't notice.

Posted by Mark at 11:05 AM | TrackBack

November 04, 2005

"Paru et pas vendu", part II

gnb-marathon-20051031.JPG At the end of the marathon I was still cramping, moving like a snail. The picture says it all, you can almost see the cramp on the front of my leg.

The pain's nearly all gone now, however. I'd like to get back out there for a run. But if the rain clears up, I'm going to get on the bike this weekend instead, aiming at waiting a whole week this time before running again.

Several people at work have wondered whether my cramps were due to the lack of organization. I'm not at all convinced. My plan, when I get some time, is to look into the problem more carefully to see if I can isolate the major factors.

The thing is, if it's something I can easily fix, like stretching more, or not running too hard in the beginning, then I should fix it. Only after I've tried to fix what's under my control should I give up trying to fix it in advance.

Posted by Mark at 04:52 PM | TrackBack

November 03, 2005

"Paru et pas vendu"

The forum at Jogging-International.net has a long rant thread (en français) against the Grenoble marathon. Apparently even one the pace setters had to plead with spectators for water.

There's some suggestion that next time the run is put on, it shouldn't be with the same organizers.

I'm not convinced my cramp problem was directly related to the organization. Need to take the time to analyze the situation to see if I can determine the most likely cause to avoid in the future.

Posted by Mark at 09:35 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

October 31, 2005

3:41:43/160

Tommy Hendricks used to say if you're going to play a wrong note, play it loudly.

My splits started out okay. At 7 km, I was at 29:19, at 1/2 marathon, 90 minutes. A little slow, but not dire.

Not dire, except for the cramps. At 16 km, I was already suffering, try to relax my feet to keep them from knotting up. At the halfway point, I was fighting severe cramps, the kind where your toes start to curl in and your muscles go into spasms you cannot relax.

I didn't get anything like that in Lyon until nearly the end of the run, probably 20 km later than today. I considered giving up and finishing the half marathon which had started simultaneously, but some child on a bridge above us had asked me at 18 km, "How many kilometers are you running, mister?"

"42 kilometers," I replied.

At 22 km, my legs came to a stop at one point. I got them going again, but was losing time seriously. At 28 km, I was 2:02 already.

At somewhere around 30 km, I could not run due to cramps. At 32 km, I could barely walk. I think 32-35 km took the longest. For minutes at a time, I balanced on the side of the road in immobile agony. I'd already thrown in the towel at that point, but decided the quickest way to get it over with would be to finish walking, maybe jogging. After about 35 km, in a foul mood, I managed to start jogging again, interspersed with lots of walking.

Given the situation with my legs and feet, I never seem to have hit the wall, even though the refreshments were not only sporadic, but also mainly just plain bottled water. I was going too slowly to hit the wall. There's a 3-hour marathon in me. I'm sure.

Next season I'm going to skip the marathons, however, and run only shorter races (5-21 km) instead. 18 weeks down the drain for a few cramps is simply too frustrating.

Posted by Mark at 11:42 PM | TrackBack

Pretty soon now

Time to stop taking liquids. Another two hours and it's time to go. Joanne says she's feeling nervous about it. I'm pretty jittery. Hope I don't get too nervous and try to follow Matt around the first 1/2 marathon, then end up bonking at 25 km.

Posted by Mark at 04:55 PM | TrackBack

October 30, 2005

14:46/170

One last run, something between 3-4 km, before the long one tomorrow night. My actuals now show the times for the last 18 weeks' training.

Posted by Mark at 01:52 PM | TrackBack

October 27, 2005

20:12/178

The fun run turned into a workout when Matt decided to come along. We chatted for the first 5 minutes, in between breaths, then ran quite hard for a while along the 5 km route.

My heart rate was 193 when we got up the hill, and 193 at the very end. I'm almost over my cold. Probably shouldn't have run that fast.

Posted by Mark at 01:47 PM | TrackBack

October 26, 2005

Taking a rest

My schedule says I should go 5 km today, but I have a mild sore throat, and have even felt a little feverish. Also, another fun run is scheduled for tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 01:26 PM | TrackBack

October 25, 2005

30:28/147

Easy 6 1/4 km for the first fun run. Only Johan came along.

Posted by Mark at 02:24 PM | TrackBack

October 24, 2005

23:17/157

5 km starting off with Jerome then doing the second half alone. I ran three hard repeats between 300-500 m. Highest heart rate I noticed was 191.

Posted by Mark at 02:12 PM | TrackBack

October 22, 2005

58:43/155

Approx. 13 km this morning around Pontcharra. I started gently and sped up, running very hard the last 1/2 km. My heart rate just before starting to run was 55. When I tapped the button to finish counting, it was 183.

My actual times are updated. Only one week of taper left before the race, so I have only about 19 km scheduled until Halloween.

Posted by Mark at 10:13 AM | TrackBack

October 21, 2005

28:15/165

Ran the 15-rep, 40/20 workout, which for me is running 200 m, waiting 20-22 s, then going again. After that's over and you've had a shower, you're fairly relaxed.

Posted by Mark at 02:48 PM | TrackBack

October 20, 2005

24:40/164

6 1/4 km. Started gently and sped up some. Was thinking about work.

Turns out I ran faster than race pace, which is 4:16/km or 26:40 for this distance.

Posted by Mark at 03:04 PM | TrackBack

October 19, 2005

45:58/154

Warm up and cool down jogging with Matt around 5 intense hill reps in Meylan and Montbonnot. Thinking of doing the 15-rep, 40/20 workout this Friday for the last of the speedwork.

Posted by Mark at 03:44 PM | TrackBack

October 18, 2005

43:00/159???

Ran the 6 1/4 km then the 4 km routes, starting off with Joanne, Nigel, and Stu who were doing 16 km.

Had to guess at my stats, since I seem not to have effectively pressed the start button, thus the question marks after the time and average heart rate.

Posted by Mark at 01:46 PM | TrackBack

October 17, 2005

32:35/168

Approx. 7 km as a tempo run. Started out with Nigel, sped up until the last 2.5 km, then took it easy.

Posted by Mark at 04:24 PM | TrackBack

October 15, 2005

1:30:58/144

This morning I didn't run until almost 11. Nathalie had her first assigment just beyond La Rochette, and she didn't make it back until 10:45. She's helping a girl who has to pass the bac next year and according to Nathalie has quite a bit of work left learning English.

Meanwhile I worked with Tim on math, geometry, and regional French specialties, everything from munster cheese to caramels to coppa. His assignment was to read a few pages about which foods originated in which regions, and to locate some of them on a map of France. For extra credit, he had bananas. Think départements d'outre mer.

At almost 11, I went out for 19.6 km (12,2 mi) around Pontcharra. My legs felt wimpy today, slightly out of joint with some tiredness at less than 15 km. The pace at around 4:38/km (7:28/mi) seems okay for a long run, especially since my average heart rate was down around 74% of max.

Near the very end I tried speeding up. My body reacted slowly. It had settled in to the easy pace. My heart rate took a while to rise, hitting only 160 in the last few seconds.

Next week I start the taper in earnest.

Posted by Mark at 02:51 PM | TrackBack

October 14, 2005

21:48/173

As far as I know, I've never run the 6 1/4 km (3.9 mi) circuit this quickly before. The time translates to a 3:29/km (5:37/mi) pace. That's 47 s/km (75 s/mi) faster than race pace, but it's only 15% of race distance. At today's pace, I start to have air and lactate trouble after less than 3 km. Need to work more on my fatigue resistance.

Posted by Mark at 02:25 PM | TrackBack

October 13, 2005

54:48/142

Easy jog with Nigel around the lake, 10.6 km. Nigel's getting ready to go for the half marathon in Grenoble on Halloween.

Posted by Mark at 01:49 PM | TrackBack

October 12, 2005

30:00/162

30-minute tempo run today. Ran medium for the first 15 minutes, then hard to very hard for 10, then gradually cooled to a slow jog at 30:00.

At about 21:30, I was working hard, but felt as though I were making no progress. Not sure what that is. I wonder if other runners have the feeling as well. To me it feels that I'm moving almost in slow motion, although theoretically I'm running very hard. It's as though time slows temporarily.

Posted by Mark at 02:42 PM | TrackBack

October 11, 2005

55:40/156

Set out with Stu and Nigel at their longish run pace. They did 14 km in about 90 minutes, and I ran with them for about 3.5 km before heading off.

I did a total of 12 km, so must've done the last 8.5 in roughly 33:10, which is approximately race pace average. It seems like I ran about another 5 km relatively quickly, then did some fartlek stuff, with 4-5 sprints and strides to work on form.

Posted by Mark at 08:21 PM | TrackBack

October 10, 2005

36:19/149

My 4 km route must not be quite 4 km. Ran it twice today for almost 8 km.

The nice thing about this route is the gentle uphill if you start clockwise, then the long gentle downhill. You can get a fair amount of practice going with the flow downhill. For me, going with the flow in this context means trying to impede your progress downhill as little as possible, letting gravity do the work, but without jarring the teeth out of your jaw. Hard to make it as smooth as running on the flats.

Posted by Mark at 06:28 PM | TrackBack

October 08, 2005

2:36:28/143

Took it easy during nearly all of this morning's 32 km (20 mi) run, speeding up a little at the end to get my legs used to increasing the intensity when my body's tired. I'm pleased to be running roughly 20 x 7:50/mi at less than 74% of max heart rate, meaning probably less that 50% of VO2max.

Next week is a step back week. Then I start tapering. My actuals suggest I ran about 88 1/2 km (55 mi) in 6:50 this week. So the quality hasn't dropped off.

I also commuted three days this week with the bike, adding roughly another 2:15 to 2:30 in base exercise. My new bike doesn't have a computer on it, so I'm judging those times based on how long the commute's taken me in the past.

Had some discomfort periodically in my legs, but not much. Not as much as I'd usually expect near the end of a 20 miler. Maybe that's due to the slower pace. Did feel a bit tired starting out.

Posted by Mark at 02:11 PM | TrackBack

October 07, 2005

1:03:10/175

Faster-than-race-pace 16 km (10 mi) run on the same route as this Tuesday. It was tough. My right shin felt rough this morning, but feels okay now.

Posted by Mark at 02:22 PM | TrackBack

October 06, 2005

44:05/135

Easy recovery run with Jerome. We jogged the 3 km and 5 km routes.

Posted by Mark at 02:54 PM | TrackBack

October 05, 2005

Routes around work

I've finally gotten around to drawing up some routes to go with the discussion I had with Jerome.

From the cover page:

Around Sun in Montbonnot you will find some nice routes to run, either on paths through the fields and near the Isère, or uphill along mostly quiet, residential streets. I've scanned the map for the area around work, and marked some of the shorter routes -- from approximately 3 km to approximately 10 km -- in red.

Next step is to send a mail proposal and get people together for a first run. I have several volunteers lined up to lead runners around these routes. May try a couple out tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 10:49 PM | TrackBack

40:01/162

Ate too much raclette, drank too much wine, didn't sleep too well again. Lana and Stu came over for dinner yesterday. It was great to eat (and eat, and eat) with them, but I wasn't in great shape for a tempo run today.

This was only about 8 1/2 km, with only about 10 minutes for really hard running with 2 x 5 minutes of speed up and slow down on either side of that. The rest was at recovery run speed. In addition I may be fighting off the bug that got Diane, and now seems to have spread to Timothee.

Posted by Mark at 02:05 PM | TrackBack

October 04, 2005

1:10:03/168

Faster than usual, but not race pace for 16 km. I don't feel great today.

Posted by Mark at 03:29 PM | TrackBack

October 03, 2005

37:59/216

Well, either I had a heart attack and died, or my heart monitor's not working properly. This was a gentle 8 km. The rest of this week involves more work, so I took it easy.

Posted by Mark at 01:07 PM | TrackBack

October 01, 2005

1:31:24/149

Getting up this morning I felt chilly again, as yesterday. So I ran with tights and a polar fleece top. Did these 19.6 km (12.2 mi) as a lazy 3/1, where I sped up for the last lap, but only to a somewhat harder pace. Basically I took it easy.

About 20 km is my favorite weekend morning run, maybe my favorite run, period. It's far enough that you feel like you've done yourself some good even if you run slow. Yet it's not really long, so you don't feel worn out afterwards. Wish I could say the same of a 20 mi run.

This run marks the end of a week off, during which I've run about 63-64 km and biked about the same during my commute. Next week it's back to work for a near 90 km push before tapering to Halloween.

Posted by Mark at 10:31 AM | TrackBack

September 30, 2005

44:34/157

Silly 10 km run before lunch. Jumping, skipping, sprinting, surging, and jogging. Matt has more sinus trouble and so didn't want to run.

Since I got the new bike, I've ridden very hard into work and back home. The heavier, fatter wheels make it more of a workout. The fact that you can, and therefore ought to, look for ways to go offroad also make it more of a workout. Between that and the speedwork this week, I have sore legs.

Posted by Mark at 02:22 PM | TrackBack

September 29, 2005

44:33/149

Tried some cross-country running since I'm thinking about short routes around here at work. Looks like I ran something on the order of 9 km, based on my time and pace.

It's a little damp today in order to enjoy running across the fields. And there are plenty of burrs. My socks are full of them.

Posted by Mark at 09:54 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 28, 2005

37:09/157

That'll teach me to do sprints the day before I'm supposed to do hill reps. Couldn't maintain the intensity from the sprints yesterday with Matt. Never got my heart rate above 183 as far as I could tell, and the 7 hill sprints were tough.

Posted by Mark at 02:37 PM | TrackBack

September 27, 2005

48:05/157

Matt and I only did 10 km. But we ran hard for part of that. The first 2.5 km took us 9:15, then we jogged for a while. As we came back we did three intensely hard sprints. Last one raised my heart rate to 191 bpm according to the monitor, three beats shy of my theoretical max.

Posted by Mark at 04:01 PM | TrackBack

September 26, 2005

41:32/147

8 km recovery run with the new orthotics. There's something strange about having both legs the same length. No blisters or anything like that, however.

Felt quite tired today. Good thing this is a step back week.

Posted by Mark at 01:55 PM | TrackBack

September 24, 2005

2:27:56/141

Dead legs. This morning's 32 km (20 mi) run was hard from the very start. Nathalie said I looked tired before I went out. I felt cold, listless, stiff. The view's nice, though. Here's the Chartreuse side:

20050924.jpg

Didn't quite hit the wall today. That may have been due to the bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and frozen cherries at 7:00 am before running at 8. Felt like stopping at only about 20 km, however. My time appears to have been about 5 minutes faster than two weeks ago.

Posted by Mark at 03:52 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

September 23, 2005

1:07:09/174

A disappointingly slow 16 km (10 mi) run considering how hard the last 1/3 felt. I was aiming to run the distance in 1:08:16 or less, so I did manage that, but it should've been easier. Maybe I'm just tired. Pedalling in this morning, I felt like my legs were weak. Same thing yesterday.

Despite those setbacks, I may have managed a world record nevertheless. Most gnats stuck to a single human being after only about an hour outside. There were literally hundreds of gnats stuck to the front of me. Got one or two in the eyes. Not sure, but I may also have inhaled a few. I was definitely spitting them out all along the river bank.

Posted by Mark at 02:33 PM | TrackBack

September 22, 2005

Bad for you

The BBC News is running an article about the dangers of smoking even a little bit.

Apparently earlier studies didn't find significant health risks from "light" smoking (up to half a pack of cigarettes a day). The study in question, lasting from 1970 to 2002, did however find some nasty results for light smokers:

Among women, smoking one to four cigarettes daily increased the chance of dying from lung cancer almost five times.

Men who smoked this amount were almost three times as likely to be killed by lung cancer.

Nathalie and I are lucky not to be smokers. It's already tough for smokers to stop. Seeing that cutting back won't save you, that it's really all or nothing, must make it that much harder.

Posted by Mark at 09:23 PM | TrackBack

45:29/140

Easy 8 km recovery run with Jerome. We were talking about planning a couple of short runs a week and publishing the distances, routes, and dates.

Our idea is that other people at work would like to come out and run, but don't want to go necessarily very far or very fast. People have said that to me. Other people told me those people don't want to run with me while I'm training for a marathon.

Posted by Mark at 05:55 PM | TrackBack

September 21, 2005

New orthotics

Today I had some new orthotic inserts finished. The three primary differences with these are the soft heel center to allow shock absorption in my shoes more than my feet, the built up area behind the balls of the feet to rotate more weight beyond the balls of the feet onto the toes, and the raised right heel to equalize total leg length.

orthotics-20050921.jpg The podiatrist reminded me that I need to get used to them gradually, so I might not run in them right away. I don't have any runs shorter than 8 km (5 mi) until mid October though so I'll try them for that length next Monday. My hope is to be able to use them in earnest starting next week which is a step back week.

The podiatrist molded these inserts right onto my feet. He heated the basic orthotic assembly on a machine that pulls them together as they heat by vacuum pressure. Then he puts the orthotic inside a plastic bag, ties that onto the foot, positions everything, and has a tube to generate a vacuum inside the bag. You wear the warm othotic until it cools in the shape of your foot. After that he finishes the job, cutting, grinding, adding the raised heel, and so forth.

So far they feel okay, but I've only walked around the office and home for a couple of hours.

Posted by Mark at 08:42 PM | TrackBack

50:00/166

Tempo run this noon. I had the wrong shirt and got too warm. Ran between 11-12 km I guess.

Posted by Mark at 06:22 PM | TrackBack

September 20, 2005

1:12:58/164

Chilly fall weather, helped me remember I forgot tape for my chest. This was roughly 16 km, maybe a bit more. Felt cold and tired most of the time.

Posted by Mark at 02:43 PM | TrackBack

September 19, 2005

39:08/153

8 km recovery run today. There were a couple of times I felt like running harder, but then this is a 90 km week. There'll be time to run harder.

Matt said he'll be out running with me. Apparently he bet some friend he could beat him in the half-marathon on Halloween.

Jerome and I realize we're too late to set up an official running club, so we may set up an unofficial one. It's probably up to me to suggest a first meeting.

Posted by Mark at 01:10 PM | TrackBack

September 17, 2005

1:33:25/143

This morning it rained before I went out. The weather was quite chilly in Pontcharra. Good weather to run long, but at a faster pace. I was just taking it easy for this step back week, 19.6 km (12.2 mi) longer run.

Some guy from either Mentor Graphics or Euromaster came up to me in the cafeteria yesterday, saying his team was looking for another guy to run a 24-hour relay this weekend. I told him I couldn't this weekend. Not only am I saving my energy for Halloween and have to help Nath and Barraux Bouquine, but also I need more than a half day's notice to psyche myself up for 40 miles of running over a 24-hour period.

He said his best time for the marathon was 2:42. Pretty good. I'll probably never be able to do that. Might be fun to go out and run with those guys, however.

Posted by Mark at 10:48 AM | TrackBack

September 16, 2005

39:38/173

This is the first time I've recorded myself running 10 km in less than 40 minutes. It ended up being hard work.

When I got to the halfway point, I was at about 20:08, so decided to push it on the way back and see if I could beat my old 40 minute goal.

Posted by Mark at 04:09 PM | TrackBack

September 15, 2005

Longer

Like everybody else I tried Google Blog Search, but since I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I ended up two degrees away at an article by Jeff Galloway on how long your long runs should be.

Jeff expects me to peak at 30 mi (48 km) before tapering. Hmm. That's 10 mi (16 km) after the wall. Even if I go slowly, won't that break me down more than it'll build me up?

According to Jeff, you get the benefits just by covering the distance. So walking is okay, even recommended. Jeff writes, "Everyone should take a one to two-minute walk break every two to eight minutes on every long run."

I wonder how many young children Jeff had when he came up with this weekend program, and whether he was getting along with his wife. This sounds a little bit like Matt recommending that I skip most of the long runs and ride the bike instead because on the bike you can go much further than you can on foot, 6 hours instead of 2:30.

Let's face it. Running is good, but it's basically pointless once you do more than about 2-3 hours per week. After that you're not running for the benefits. A max. of 2:30 in training on the weekends is enough for me right now.

Posted by Mark at 09:08 PM | TrackBack

41:29/151

Easy 8 km recovery. Most gnats I've ever swallowed.

Posted by Mark at 04:57 PM | TrackBack

September 14, 2005

45:01/159

Tempo run for a bit more than 10 km, starting off with Nigel. After about 15 minutes I started working progressively harder until about 30:00, then backing off gradually to a jog starting at 35:00 until the end. Tomorrow's a recovery day.

Posted by Mark at 01:51 PM

September 13, 2005

42:28/167

10 km of fartlek along the Isère at lunch. Funny that I'll do this same distance tomorrow as speed work (tempo run) and give myself 2 1/2 more minutes to finish. Don't tell my boss I play harder than I work.

Posted by Mark at 02:59 PM

September 12, 2005

27:59/146

Recovery jog with Nigel around the 6 1/4 km circuit. Felt okay, a little guilty for not doing much today. The air was cool, though humid.

Posted by Mark at 05:33 PM

Step back week

This week I only have to run 63 km (39 mi). It's a relief. Rest after training lets the body rebuild.

I need some rest for my mind. Or what I need is mind training, combined with mind rest. Raising children is conducive to a sort of mental exhaustion that doesn't do the adult any good. In school we learned there was a negative correlation between IQ and raising children. In real life we understand why: overtraining your irritation and frustration centers.

Hope Nathalie can get a step back week as they go to school.

Posted by Mark at 06:25 AM

September 10, 2005

2:32:52/151

Not another soul out running this morning, though I crossed a number of cyclists. It was a nicer morning to run than ride, however. Cool enough when starting out that I felt cold for the first 5 km.

This was the first of three 20 milers (32 km) in preparation for the marathon Halloween. Although I ate breakfast this morning, the last 5 km were still tough. But the pace is within the suggested range, and my heart rate was only about 78% of max. so I guess that's okay. I was running slowly enough to whistle and sing to myself after the battery in my MP3 player went dead.

Posted by Mark at 11:01 AM

September 09, 2005

1:13:37/172

Approx. 16 km (10 mi) relatively hard, with a push at the end. Given how hard I ran, this may have been more than 16 km. Not sure.

I read in Higdon's book on running fast that trained runners can benefit from up to 4 hard sessions a week, so that's my 3rd. It felt okay. We'll see how the run tomorrow goes.

I made the mistake during winter training for the Lyon marathon of running my only 32 km (20 mi) run relatively hard, then not backing off right and not eating enough carbs during the taper. This time I'm not going to use the long runs for running hard, except perhaps 3/1 if I feel really fresh.

Posted by Mark at 05:25 PM

September 08, 2005

41:04/148

Felt weak and negative for 8 slow km. Probably from two hard sessions in a row, and not sleeping enough last night. I woke up too early.

Didn't ride to work today either. The weather's fine, but I discovered a flat rear tire when getting ready to leave.

Posted by Mark at 11:12 AM

September 07, 2005

37:22/146

Six hill reps of approx. 200 m each with jogging in between. Warmed up before going gently uphill towards Montbonnot and cooled down after coming downhill from Meylan.

Instead of staying on the same stretch of hill the whole time, I used three different hills and only ran the same section once. I'm not sure that's good training, but I didn't feel like thinking about the same section of hill 6 times.

Posted by Mark at 10:02 AM

The closer you get

The closer I get to a really hard workout, the more I want to do something else. From far away, a hard workout looks like a great idea. Aerobic capacity, muscle recruitment, running economy, all of it will improve dramatically as I recover.

Before I set out, the body's signals seem louder than normal: shins and hamstrings tight, back tired, alignment not right, shoe wear has the ankles at unfortunate angles, stomach feels bloated, shoulders tense and anxious. When I get into running, even my heart and lungs feedback stress. My inner voice echoes tiredness. The conscious mind doubts even from its comfortable position.

Quickly after peak speed is reached the whole body is awash in stop signals. That's what top performance feels like. Awful.

You cannot hold top performance very long. But if you do not get injured and you allow your body time to recover, your body and your mind may get better at pushing to higher limits, up to a point. (Note: If you manage to ignore the body for very long, you'll probably just get injured/overtrained and your performance will decline.)

As Tim Noakes observed by studying runners throughout the recorded history of running, those who train and race hard for years eventually suffer from whatever it is, partly muscle damage, that causes their performance to decline. According to Noakes the decline seems to relate less to aging than to some sort of limit in the body's ability to recover. This suggests to me that more gradual improvement, time to relax from training, and more variety might be the keys to higher performance over the long term.

Posted by Mark at 07:46 AM

September 06, 2005

1:15:43/162

16 km as a 3/1 run, meaning I ran progressively harder for the last quarter.

It's nice to have an MP3 player for these runs where I only need to concentrate hard for a little while. Not only that but also the combination of Sharleen Spiteri's voice and endorphins completely drowns out the tedium, soreness, and 5000 footfalls per hour.

Posted by Mark at 02:27 PM

September 05, 2005

27:36/144

About 6 1/4 km this morning at a jog. My legs and body feel pretty good after a day off, though they bothered me last night.

Posted by Mark at 12:48 PM

September 03, 2005

2:20:07/160

This concludes 7 days without a day off, during which I've run about 95 km (59 mi) in about 7 hours. My actuals show the times. I also biked, but only for 1:33:41, since I only took the train Monday and Wednesday.

Dana's done better than that. If I recall correctly, he's done 70 mi (almost 113 km) in a single week. I don't intend to match his record soon.

Today I went out before eating breakfast, because Nathalie needed me back here by 10 am. She's working at the Barraux library this morning. Although I had sports drink during the run, I started hitting the wall about 2 hours into the 30 km jog. The last 5 km were tough.

At the end, I kept thinking about men and women who finish 90 km -- which took me a week -- in one day at the Comrades Marathon. Kind of puts my dinky little standard marathon training plan in perspective.

Here's how much weight I lose temporarily on a 30 km jog. When I got up, I weighed 82.3 kg. Before and during the run, I drank approx. 2 liters of water with about 80 g of sports drink mix. After the run, I weighed 80.3 kg. If you figure I burn about 80 kcal/km, that's about 2400 kcal. Let's assume 1/3 come from fat (about 90 g) and 2/3 from carbohydrates (400 g), so that's a total of 90 + 400 - 80 = 410 g of weight loss that isn't water, or about 3 1/2 liters of water loss. Roughly a gallon.

Most of that ended up in my socks. My feet looked like they'd been taking a long bath. Some of it's still on the seat of my car where the towel got pushed aside.

Posted by Mark at 10:18 AM | Comments (2)

September 02, 2005

58:21/174

Ran without looking at my watch or heart monitor. Ran hard. With the pace set according to my body, it turned out to be slightly faster than race pace.

I was starting to heat up towards the end. Hope it'll be cooler Halloween night in Grenoble.

Posted by Mark at 03:20 PM

September 01, 2005

32:37/154

This time was for approximately 7 km. It's an easy day before running harder tomorrow, and then running 30 km Saturday.

Posted by Mark at 09:39 AM

August 31, 2005

45:01/164

Tempo run this morning before things heat up. I ran a bit more than 10 km. Had to drop to a slow jog 5 minutes from the end to avoid going into a holding pattern in the Sun parking lot. Probably started off too fast.

By the 3rd quarter of the 10 km I ran 20-30 seconds faster than the day I did a 10 km in just over 40:00. Was running out of air at the end of that leg. On a more aptly paced tempo run I'd have been going a bit slower for longer.

Posted by Mark at 09:29 AM

August 30, 2005

1:08:50/144

Easy 14 km (8.7 mi) run on a warm, 30 C (86 F) afternoon around the corn fields down in La Gache. We seem to be having the summer weather that was missing earlier in August.

I forgot my orthotics at work, so I put the insoles back and ran on those. No arch support. A few hours running without my orthotics shouldn't hurt too much. Nevertheless I can feel tightness in my calves, especially my right calf. I also have a sort of tiredness in my left arch.

Each day I get too busy at work to remember to call the folks in Montbonnot who make orthotics for runners. They'd have me run on a treadmill and evaluate my gait before building a new pair. Need to put that on my Todo list, since I realize there's less and less of a difference between my existing orthotics and an off-the-rack insole. Plus I only have about two months to get used to the new ones, even if they build them this week.

Posted by Mark at 06:17 PM

August 29, 2005

24:41/144

5 km recovery run this morning after commuting to work with train and bicycle. The fog along the Isère just before 8:00 am masked everything.

My legs felt sore when I was going to sleep last night, and still tired today. That's to be expected, though.

Today I'm starting on the second half of the training for October, wondering whether my tiredness last week was due to overtraining or only some sort of illness.

Posted by Mark at 09:36 AM

August 28, 2005

1:00:23/177

This morning the conditions were comfortably cloudy and cool for almost the entire run. I decided at the outset to ignore my watch entirely and run according to how I felt for the 15 km de la Rosière.

Starting out, I got excited, went too quickly, and got out of rhythm. After maybe three kilometers however I felt okay. Running without looking at your watch is like waking up on a weekend morning where you have nothing planned, nothing hanging over your head. Highly recommended.

After about 5 km I was in rhythm and feeling okay. We passed some people camping who were either cooking or cleaning up. I couldn't tell which. At that point a guy a few steps ahead asked them jokingly whether this was the aid station. For some reason that struck me as funny enough to make me snicker. It was such a relief that I didn't have to take this seriously at all. I may have started to run a little harder at that point.

I started to make a game of catching up slowly with the next runner ahead of me. Luckily I'm slow enough that there's always somebody up there in front of me. It's embarrassing to pass someone, especially when they're looking at their watch a lot and you aren't. I know how they feel. When you're looking at your watch all the time during a hard run you're feeling late, worried you're not going to make it, wondering how long you can keep the pace. It's very serious.

The worst thing at that point is to have some idiot who's not taking it seriously go past you. I tried to be as unobtrusive as I could. Every time I got someone behind me it was a relief, and I could start working on the next person ahead.

Obviously I ran this too slowly to believe I can run a sub-3:00 marathon. McMillanRunning.com would predict 3:02:52 from a 1:00:23 15 km race. That doesn't matter. After today, I'm seriously thinking about running in Grenoble the same way I did today in Pontcharra. Just let the body figure out the pace and enjoy the run. Three hours is too long to feel under pressure, fat, and slow.

At the finish I had lots left. There was one guy about 50-75 m ahead when we came into the last 500 m. But he'd gone too fast and was starting to fade. I ran as hard as I could, sprinting the last 100 m. That surprised me. It was a real sprint. I caught the guy right at the finish line.

Posted by Mark at 06:37 PM

Get ready

It's about time to pay my 2 euros and get the number to pin to my shirt. Don't feel very up to a hard, 15 km run. If I feel tired starting, I can always just jog.

Posted by Mark at 08:39 AM

August 26, 2005

29:21/161

A dismal performance for only a bit over 6 1/2 km.

Something is horribly wrong. Subjectively it seems to be getting worse.

Posted by Mark at 09:53 AM | Comments (2)

August 25, 2005

1:02:05/175

It's official. I'm in significantly worse condition today than I was over a year ago, despite, or perhaps partially because of, my training.

This was for the old 14 km run out to the bridge and back. I held back a little going out, but not much. It took about 31 minutes. That was so distraughtening, it took me about 2 km to recover emotionally enough to stop my thoughts of giving up completely and walking back to work. The trick that worked for me in the end was mentally to dissociate myself from running, and think about something even more irritating.

That helped me get back to pushing it. I was looking for that feeling I used to have of being tightly focused holding a fast pace all the way back. It felt very rough today. I couldn't remember having worked that hard, but I guess I did. Now I'm running like a jogger.

A kilometer away from work, I bonked. A few hundred meters later I looked at my watch, which said my heart was still pumping away at 178 bpm, although I seemed to be moving like a dehydrated snail with a sprained back.

This "workout" completely deflated me. I stood under a cold shower for 5 minutes in an attempt to recover, but I still haven't come back to normal. Either I'm coming down with something like mononucleosis, or I'm overtraining.

Posted by Mark at 08:46 PM

August 24, 2005

No running today

Vincent eventually sent me a link to the update concerning how soon the trains might be running again. Not before tonight at the most optimistic, meaning certainly not.

So I need to ride all the way back home, my legs feel tired and my back is bugging me. And we're delivering a sneak preview of an upcoming version of Directory Server pretty soon. Guess I'll run again tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 04:39 PM

August 23, 2005

1:05:19/165

For this 14 km run, I started with Nigel and continued without him over the bridge on the road towards the Versoud where I rode back in defeat last night from Lancey. The Isère is full of muddy water.

Ran quite hard to very hard for some of the middle, finally getting to a heart rate of 188 (theoretically 97%), a beat higher than the last time I ran hill repeats.

Posted by Mark at 02:41 PM

August 22, 2005

25:19/155

Ran uphill in to the national road and back down. I think that's on the order of 5 km. Ran slowly saving energy for the harder sessions this week.

It's still raining. A shame to have cleaned my bike and my chain just yesterday but fine jogging weather.

Posted by Mark at 10:31 AM

August 21, 2005

Twice a day?

Now that I've come back to Tim Noakes book, The Lore of Running, I've arrived at the chapters in which he proposes specific training for various distances from 10 km to ultramarathons.

One of the things he seems to have done to increase his training load while still living like a normal human being is running to and from work. I read that and thought, "No, that's too much." But in fact it might be the way to do 100 km weeks, skipping the hill in front of my house by taking the car to the station, then running from the station to work in the morning and back in the evening. It'd be one way of breaking the runs into small bits except for planned long runs.

Mom and Dana wonder whether anyone would want to sit in the same rail car with me in the evenings. I doubt it would be much worse than what I'm already subjecting them to by biking. It's only about 8 km after all.

The time might get to be an issue, however. Will have to think more about it after October.

Posted by Mark at 06:29 PM

August 20, 2005

2:13:19/150

Stopped for two trains this morning. I ran the first four laps gently, then ran the last lap around Pontcharra as a gradual acceleration. I extended the first three, running out to the fire station, so this was about 27 km (17 mi) as planned.

I notice now that unlike this spring, where my legs got tired at around 18 km in late Feb., my legs don't really get tired in the same way, even at the end of a longer run like this one. I'm more likely to start out with tired legs, and I still have moments of fatigue or discomfort during the run, but nothing progressive after only 20 km or thereabouts. Maybe I'm just getting lazy.

Posted by Mark at 11:03 AM

August 19, 2005

1:00:27/169

Ran uphill to Rochasson, then back down and along the Isère for about 13 km (8mi). Since the pressure was off, I felt great. And I ran fairly hard. My neck's bothering me a bit from running downhill too hard.

I found the MP3 player headphones don't fall out as easily if I keep it in the little pocket in my shorts, rather than on the arm band. My playlist script certainly causes some interesting segues, though. Have to find a moment to tinker with that.

Posted by Mark at 04:41 PM

August 18, 2005

Time to relax

My legs are a little tired this week, and I know I have to run 40 km in the next 2 days. But in reviewing my actuals, I just realized I get to run slowly tomorrow (7:52/mi pace)!

Almost feels like a vacation.

Posted by Mark at 09:54 PM

26:13/163

This morning I felt irritable, and ended up running 6 1/4 km (about 4 mi) on autopilot. Now that I've run I feel much better.

If that was 6.25 km, my pace was under 4:12/km, suggesting that I'd be okay at a race pace around 85% max. heart rate instead of over 90% as I ran last Friday, for example. 90% is tough to maintain for an hour, let alone three hours.

Posted by Mark at 09:43 AM

August 17, 2005

36:55/149

Five hill repeats of about 1 minute, with warmup, cooldown, and time in between repeats (a minute or so to let the heart rate fall back to less than 65%). I ran these very, very hard.

Once I let my heart rate fall back to 50%, but that took probably over 2 minutes.

By the last repeat, I was exhausted. Came back very slowly.

Posted by Mark at 09:06 AM

August 16, 2005

1:02:30/146

A nice day to run 13 km (8 mi) at a relatively leisurely pace. The air was cool. Although it threatened rain, none has fallen yet.

Posted by Mark at 11:56 AM

August 15, 2005

25:51/142

Ran down around the fields in La Gache today. I guess this run was on the order of 5 1/2 km.

Timothee was going on and on this morning about making cigarettes for some reason. He claimed to have created a delicious substitute, using dried grass.

When I ran past a field of tobacco, I noticed they'd already cut a few plants. I found a leaf that was only slightly dirty and chewed by bugs at the time, so I rolled it up and brought it home. Tim and Emma were surprised tobacco leaves are so large.

Posted by Mark at 02:37 PM

August 13, 2005

2:04:26/148

Today's was my first long run in a while. I did roughly 26 km (16 mi) around Pontcharra under cool and overcast conditions at an easy pace. My actuals are updated to include times for this week. (Notice I'm running too slowly.)

This was definitely more fun than yesterday. I even treated myself to breakfast before going out, and sports drink while jogging. My legs felt pretty good, though with a bit of tiredness after the first 20 km and a few twinges in the knees. Part of the trouble may be my procrastination. I've run far enough in my current orthotics to break them down quite a bit. I have a recommendation on where to get new ones made -- sports doctors that have a treadmill to monitor your running and build them accordingly -- but I haven't yet called the doctors' office to set up an appointment.

Nathalie and the kids had an errand to run in Pontcharra while I was circling around the town. They cheered me on briefly on my second to last and last laps.

Posted by Mark at 02:26 PM

August 12, 2005

15 km de la Rosière

Nathalie reminded me there's a 15 km run organized in Pontcharra on August 28. I'm supposed to run 19 km that day.

The fee is 2 euros. I guess I'll go ahead and go, with no intent to run hard. Should be fun.

Posted by Mark at 09:29 PM

56:12/176

About 13 km (8 mi). I hope a little more. Too slow for that heart rate. Felt slow, uncoordinated, and fat.

Posted by Mark at 01:15 PM

August 11, 2005

27:44/153

Didier was planning to go out today but the rain convinced him not to. Nigel, however, came around at noon suggesting we go.

So we went around the 6 1/4 route, running a bit extra by starting at the door instead of the edge of the parking lot.

Posted by Mark at 12:56 PM

August 10, 2005

40:03/159

40-minute tempo run today. At the outset my legs were a bit tired. I've been going a little too fast commuting on the bike.

I decided to start with 15 min in the approx. 75% max. pulse range, then increase to about 81% for 5 minutes, then 85%, then 89%, then full speed ahead from 30-35 minutes, finally winding down at the end to a jog. Couldn't have done it without the heart rate monitor.

It's true that when you do it that way, very gradually speeding up and not holding your top speed too long, you end up refreshed at the end, ready for action.

Thinking about the idea of building up to 100 km/week, maybe I should do it without heart monitor or watch, even consider walking parts of it if I feel tired.

Posted by Mark at 11:11 AM

August 09, 2005

Actuals, part II

This is the seventh week of preparation for the Halloween marathon in Grenoble.
My actual training times are updated again.

It's tougher to get motivated for this second marathon than it was for the first. After this one I'll take time off training and just run instead. I'd like to gradually increase my mileage, but not under pressure.

I was thinking about that this morning: What would it be like to average 100 km/week? That's on the order of 8 hrs. running per week. Could my body take a 32 km (20 mi) run each weekend, and another 21 km (13 mi) run during the week? Perhaps something like 10 km + 21 km + 13 km + 16 km + 8 km + 32 km, for example, with one weekend day off a week.

Posted by Mark at 09:32 PM

1:02:54/151

13 km (8 mi) at an easy pace. Friday I should run the same distance at race pace.

The weather's cool now. So cool this morning when I caught the train that I had to wear a polar fleece top riding down the hill, and even then I was chilly.

Posted by Mark at 11:37 AM

August 08, 2005

26:04/137

Gentle 5 km run in the cool morning weather. My upper body feels tired from cutting the hedges, I'd eaten about an hour before, then drank a bunch of water on arriving at work, and I had a bit of a sore throat this morning. So I took it easier than I usually do, and felt refreshed at the end.

Posted by Mark at 09:24 AM

August 06, 2005

1:12:59/158

This is a sort of easy week, finishing with a 16 km (10 mi) run. My legs felt tired starting out. I wanted to go before breakfast and finish before it got warm. For some reason I just didn't enjoy the run as much as usual.

Posted by Mark at 02:10 PM

August 05, 2005

43:12/177

Ran hard for roughly, perhaps slightly less than, 11 km this morning in cool weather. This felt significantly faster than race pace.

Judging by my avg. pulse, 91% of max., this was closer to 10 km pace. But I felt okay after finishing.

Posted by Mark at 02:12 PM

August 04, 2005

26:04/155

Approx. 5 km uphill and then back down again. Nice day to run.

Posted by Mark at 05:22 PM

August 03, 2005

35:00/168

Tempo run at lunchtime. Ran softly for 15 min, then increased the pace each 5 min for the next 15, 5 min cooldown. Covered nearly 8 km, running very gently in the beginning to very hard from 25-30 min.

My body feels okay, but out of shape. Tried to relax into the pace while running harder. Outside it's still cool and damp.

Posted by Mark at 03:13 PM

August 02, 2005

49:50/160

This run was on the order of 11 km (7 mi, notice I'm using only 1 significant digit). It rained lightly the whole time as I ran the same route as yesterday, out along the river towards the bridge in the direction of Grenoble.

Good thing my old shoes are still on the shelf in the changing room and no one has thrown them in the trash. The path had turned to muck in spots. As I ran I could feel the muddy water seeping in through the sides of my shoes.

Posted by Mark at 02:09 PM

August 01, 2005

26:26/150

Roughly 5 k (3 mi) at a gentle pace. The path along the river seems to be open again. I'm looking forward to running further along there where it's shady.

Posted by Mark at 09:28 AM

July 30, 2005

1:50:54/163

Strange 23 km this morning around Pontcharra.

I woke up late, around 7:50 am, and went out almost right away, but forgot something to drink and so doubled back before starting. Felt tired most of the way, with my heart rate through the roof, maybe more than 5% too fast on average, althought the pace was in the slow range at 4:49/km (7:45/mi). Not sure what happened.

Weighed myself when I got back. I was at 80.7 kg (178 lb), meaning I somehow lost a big chunk of weight since last week. Maybe the quick change in volume of food plus jet lag led to my weirdly high pulse.

Posted by Mark at 11:17 AM

July 29, 2005

1:00:29/153

Phil and I went for a jog together this morning. I was aiming for at least 11 km, but I'm not sure how far we went.

My heart rate looks too fast for a jog. Maybe it's the jet lag. Had trouble going to sleep last night.

Posted by Mark at 10:40 AM

July 28, 2005

Actuals

Just updated and posted my actual training times after 4 1/2 weeks of training for the Halloween marathon.

Some of my colleagues who were going to run alongside me are instead opting to go on vacation in Jordan. I suppose a marathon is not enough reason to stay home. Maybe they're just not weird enough.

Posted by Mark at 09:16 PM

26:48/158

Ran 6 1/4 km (about 4 mi) with Nigel a little faster than I should've. We were chatting and I wasn't really paying attention to the pace.

Posted by Mark at 04:57 PM

July 26, 2005

34:08/155 (4 x hill)

Ran about 1.6 mi (2.7 km) warm up and cool down with 4 repeats about 175 yards (160 m) uphill in front of Mom and Dana's house. Total of 4 mi (6.4 km).

The humidity seems very high indeed. I ran the warm up slowly, then the repeats hard to very hard. After the repeats I couldn't cool down, and my heart rate stayed in the 151-160 range on, climbing to 165 when I came back up the hill. Good thing I'll take over 24 hours off now.

Posted by Mark at 02:23 PM

July 25, 2005

1:14:55/158

Ran 10 mi (16 km) at Barker track. (The link is to the Google satellite view.) It rained for most of the 40 laps. The time includes one bio break, causing me to complete the first lap in 2:33, and a tenth mile at an increasingly faster pace. I started the last 4 laps at 1:08:38 and kept increasing the pace until I finished at a sprint.

My intention is to have this count for both today and tomorrow's run, since we're flying back to France tomorrow, and so I won't really have time to run Wednesday. Tomorrow I ought to run 4 hill repeats as planned for Wednesday.

This run was going to be at Krueger. Dana thought maybe they had an asphalt track. Instead it turned out when I drove over there that not only was it also a cinder track, but furthermore there was a drum and bugle corps practicing on the football field in the middle of the track. So I went back over to Barker. Had plenty of small cinders in my shoes by the time I finished. The track at what used to be Elston High School looks more promising, but I imagine it's not open to the public.

Posted by Mark at 06:39 PM

July 24, 2005

Running form

From these photos, Emma looks like she has more relaxed running form than her dad:

marathoner-20050724.jpg runner-20050724.jpg

Maybe she'll do better than I'm doing if she ever decides to run regularly.

Posted by Mark at 05:50 PM

Day off, part VIII

No strenuous exercise today. Continuing to read Lore of Running I notice again that all coaches and serious athletes recommend rest as a key part of training.

One obvious addition to that is Tim Noakes's view on how to conduct training, one that he got from an earlier expert. Noakes suggests that all training is an experiment, and turns out most effective if conducted as a scientific experiment. You begin with a hypothesis such as, "This training program can allow me to run 5% faster for 10 km at 80% of max. heart rate." Then you test that hypothesis. An additional hypothesis may be that these improvements will let me run a marathon 5% faster. That would be tested less frequently but nevertheless tested.

I realize I've been training for a long time without testing hypotheses like these. Hmm.

Posted by Mark at 04:34 PM

July 23, 2005

1:42:10/152

According to Gmaps Pedometer, I ran almost 22 km instead of 21. The thing is, that last little bit of what's on the map as Lake Shore Drive is in fact sand with beach grass on it. So I ran around the back to Highland Drive.

My pace for this morning was 4:39/km (7:29/mi), which is about 14 s/km too fast, according to the pace from Daniels's VDOT tables. Yet the pace was not the same all along. I did run the first 13 km at what felt like the right speed for a long run, then sped up a bit. At one point after I sped up I was running along behind a guy taking a stroll on his bicycle, adjusting my pace to his. I eased off after a couple of stops, then sped up again later.

Matt once suggested that going up over your limit for a short while in training could help you push that threshold back. It's a sort of fartlek. A lot easier for me to enjoy than my race pace training and tempo runs.

When I was reading Tim Noakes book Lore of Running last night, I tried his suggestion that you press or pinch your legs in several spots, and if you have soreness you might be training too hard. Yesterday evening I had a few spots that were very slightly sore. Right now, nothing is sore to the touch.

My knees feel a tiny bit sore, as do the tips of a couple of toes, but that's to be expected after more than a half marathon distance. Nothing that's really bothering me. I do enjoy these long runs more than hard runs. I'd probably enjoy the hard runs more if I weren't on vacation eating so much, then going out running when the dew point is 71 F (22 C).

Posted by Mark at 04:40 PM

July 22, 2005

40:43/166

Today's 6 mi (9.7 km) race pace run was at Barker track. Either somebody raked it, or the rain smoothed it out. The track was even and the cinders more level than the last time I went.

Posted by Mark at 04:57 PM

July 21, 2005

24:37/145

Ran something on the order of 3 1/4 mi (5 1/4 km) at an easy pace this morning. I was wearing the MP3 player.

By tucking the headphone line into my heart monitor chest band, I kept the jolts from knocking the phones out of my ears. That doesn't help music from being a distraction. But today is an easy day, so I wasn't particularly focused anyway.

Posted by Mark at 03:45 PM

July 20, 2005

35:00/165

Today's tempo run carried me just over 4 15/16 mi (7 19/20 km), nearly 3 of those miles being at 7:30/mi pace and slower. I know the distance almost exactly because I ran it on the track at Barker, which is a cinder track. My shoes are quite dirty from running over there.

For the fourth mile, I ran faster than race pace, roughly a 6:05 mile after having run a 6:30 mile. Hal Higdon once quoted Jack Daniels, who popularized the tempo run, on how you shouldn't run at high intensity too often. '"Achieving that level once every two weeks or so is fine," says Daniels, "but if you train to that intensity in practice too often, you won't have anything left for competition." Except during periods when you're not racing, workouts should never approach race-level intensity.' (Source: Hal's site)

What I'm trying to learn from marathon training is how to improve over the long term. One of the basic ideas has begun to become clear to me now that I've been running steadily for the last 3 years or so. That basic idea could be stated as, Train at a level of intensity that you can maintain for a long time yet that amounts to more than you naturally want to do.

Dana and I have both experienced that point in running where it feels very smooth, almost effortless, and indeed satisfying. It often happens to me around kilometer 7 to about kilometer 10 or 12 of a longer run. It seems to happen during easy runs. Dana's take on that experience seemed to be that that sensation is a brief reward for training up to the point where you experience that feeling, and that you might want to run a marathon at about that pace.

The way I see it, if you feel that way you could be running harder, at least in a race.

Dana almost appeared surprised that you'd run a whole marathon feeling stressed, late, wondering if you can hold the pace. Yet that set of sensations is the set I feel when running my personal best times for any distance. The thing is, it takes lots of preparation to get ready to run a personal best. Training is definitely the most agreeable part of the race.

Maybe that's another basic idea connected with improving over the long term, that training should seem more fun than racing.

Posted by Mark at 05:04 PM

July 19, 2005

46:03/148

Ran these 6 mi (9.7 km) easy. This morning was cooler than other mornings, but I felt lazy. I read for about an hour too before going out.

Diane had lost her pacifier during the night. The pacifier had fallen under her covers, and she couldn't find it. So she arrived in our bed at 5:45 am expecting me to go look for the lost pacifier, which I did. Shortly after I brought it back to her she fell asleep in the middle of our bed. But she was still kicking. After she kicked me in the crotch a couple of times and pushed me away, I decided to walk out to the couch and lie down there with my book.

Posted by Mark at 03:25 PM

July 18, 2005

21:15/153

Not sure exactly how far this was, since I ran around the small circle of the subdivision instead of the large one. The large one has a significant hill, and I felt both like running counterclockwise and avoiding hills.

I scanned Dr. Cooper's book on Aerobics yesterday in the car, learning that my two short and easy runs of the week should theoretically be enough to maintain my current fitness level. All the rest is thus training.

Posted by Mark at 03:37 PM

July 16, 2005

57:15/150

7.8 mi (12.6 km) this morning at a relatively easy pace. My shoes were soaked by the end of the run, although it was only about 73-74 F (23 C) when I ran. Humidity stands at about 86% according to Weather.com.

Today I ran for the first 3-4 mi with an MP3 player I bought. The player works fine, but the headphones have a tendency to get pulled out as I run, due to little tugs on the cord. It'll probably be easier to wear on the bike.

Posted by Mark at 03:04 PM

July 15, 2005

41:07/164

The air felt too humid although the air temperature was only 74 F (23 C) this morning. A few raindrops fell by end of this 6 mi (9.7 km) marathon pace run at the Barker track.

My heart shouldn't be working that hard. Instead of 84.5% of max. it should be at about 82%. Part of it was the humidity. Part of it is the amount of food we've been eating over here, and especially the amount of meat (twice a day). My intestines feel like bratwursts.

Posted by Mark at 03:55 PM

July 14, 2005

21:45/143

3 miles upon returning from northern Michigan. Got my pacing all wrong, thought I was late and ran too fast again.

We'd spent hours in the car feeling warm in the front seat despite air conditioning. At Benton Harbor we went through a storm, then it cleared up again. Now it feels like rain is on the way here, so it was nice to get out and run in the cool breeze.

Posted by Mark at 11:34 PM

July 13, 2005

30:31/154

This tempo run I did from the DH Day campground to the dune climb on the inland side of Sleeping Bear dune and back. Here's where I turned around:

climb-20050713.jpg

If you look closely, you'll notice the signs reserving the best parking spots next to the dune face for the handicapped. If you're going to push your wheelchair up that, you certainly do deserve to get prime parking.

My run felt okay, but the weather was muggy. The heart rate seems low compared to other similar runs.

Posted by Mark at 12:32 AM

July 12, 2005

46:19/141

Felt tired for these 6 mi. Maybe I'm not sleeping enough.

Outside the humidity was very high, since it rained late last night. It was warm enough at 5:30 am when I started running that I had trouble breathing smoothly, and everything felt out of order.

Posted by Mark at 02:37 PM

July 11, 2005

21:24/151

This time represents something quite close to 3 mi (4.8 km), or 5 * .6 mi around the subdivision where Mom and Dana live.

None of that is completely flat. Their house sits at the top of a small hill, so either way you start, you end up going quickly right away and finishing the lap working a little harder than you did for the rest of it. I find it difficult to pace myself appropriately.

Posted by Mark at 10:16 PM

July 10, 2005

Short ride

My brother and I went out to for a short ride this afternoon. It took us about 43 minutes, but we were stopped at Johnson Road for about 30 seconds, and Matt's chain came off on a dirt part of 400 W, our Paris-Roubaix segment complete with a washboard section.

So the average speed was not quite 30 kph, actually 18.4 mph.

Posted by Mark at 12:33 AM

July 09, 2005

1:25:14/149

Today I ran along Lake Shore Drive, 18 km (about 11 mi). I'd planned the route using Gmaps Pedometer, which made it easy to see where to stop and turn around.

That point turned out to be at the corner of Lake Shore Drive and Pokagon Trail, just beyond the Michigan border.

I met lots of joggers and a runner. Except for the runner, I may have been the youngest guy out there. Long Beach is an upscale place for the Michigan City area, so perhaps the people living there are older, and I was out with the natives, having started just before 6 am.

Yet it's also possible that early morning runs involve mainly people over 35, and thus in less danger of having been out for a good time last night.

My legs are tired now. Though I took Wednesday off for the plane trip, I did do speedwork two days in a row on Thursday and Friday, and added a couple hours of biking Thursday afternoon. It's probably alright to take tomorrow off as planned.

Posted by Mark at 05:01 PM

July 08, 2005

8:43/180

After running 5 mi at an easy pace, I felt like running Cooper's 1.5 mi test since I was on a 1/4 mile track, and only did 1 dose of speed work this week with the hill repeats yesterday.

Had I not misremembered Cooper's tables, I'd've pushed it a little harder. I thought the fastest category required that you do it in less than 8:45; instead you have to do it in less than 8:37... if you're a guy in the 13-19 age group. For guys in the 30-39 category you get 10 minutes.

Posted by Mark at 05:31 PM

39:20/149

This morning it was still cool. I went to the track at Barker, where I probably last ran more than 20 years ago. It's a 440-yard track, rather than 400 m. I ran 5 mi (8 km) in 20 laps.

After 1 3/4 miles I was getting better at holding the 7:52/mi pace without looking at my watch. Yet I've still a long way to go before I'll be able to judge my pace within a few seconds per lap without a watch.

Posted by Mark at 05:26 PM

July 07, 2005

31.1 mi

After lunch, Dana and I rode a leisurely 31.1 mi (50.0 km) around La Porte county. Dana had fixed up his Trek upright bicycle. I still might need to borrow or buy some less worn SPD pedals, but otherwise his bike is pretty good.

Many roads around here a considerably nicer than in my memory of this area. Dana says they did get worse until some point where the state government decided to fix the road surfaces, and now even many of the less travelled roads are in good shape.

Posted by Mark at 11:42 PM

27:33/165

Ran 4.2 mi (6.8 km) today, including 3 roughly 160 m hill repeats within that distance. This was 7 laps around my parents' subdivision, and an attempt to combine the speedwork I missed yesterday with the easy run for today.

I ran a bit too fast, especially on the laps including hill reps. My intention during vacation to work on pace, but I'll do that at the track.

Posted by Mark at 11:37 PM

July 05, 2005

39:32/158

8 km with Phil. My max. heart rate is perhaps wrong. I realized it's easy to chat at what's supposed to be 80-81% of the max., so it seems like it ought to be higher than that.

Posted by Mark at 01:19 PM

July 04, 2005

24:26/153

Ran this morning to avoid rain or heat, whichever we have. I ended up running too fast in the middle and had to stop and walk at the end to avoid finishing too early.

Posted by Mark at 08:56 AM

July 03, 2005

1:12:34

We're supposed to have thunderstorms tomorrow, and after watching the last 2 hours of today's Tour de France stage, I decided to ride even though I'm scheduled to rest. I'd already cut the lawn and cut down a sort of bush, which was tiring though not aerobic.

The guys riding in the Tour de France amaze me as much as top marathoners. Today they rode 181.5 km (112.8 mi) overall 115 m uphill in 3:51:31. That's 46.6 kph (29.0 mph) for almost 4 hours!

Granted, I didn't have anybody to ride behind. Yet even working hard, starting and ending at the same elevation, I only rode 33.2 kph (20.6 mph) for 40.2 km (25.0 mi).

The guy who won today's stage, Tom Boonen, is slightly taller than me and only a bit lighter. On the other hand, what I have around my waist in the form of fat, he has on his quads in the form of muscle. He's also nearly 10 years younger, and probably cycles 20 hours/week more than I do.

Surely if I'd just shave my legs I could go 1 kph faster. Also, I notice the guys on the tour never have to stop for intersections or trains going through Pontcharra.

Posted by Mark at 08:17 PM

July 02, 2005

1:12:08/156

Approximately 16 km (10 mi) this morning in Pontcharra while it was still cool and before eating breakfast. I had to stop for a train for about 1 1/2 minutes at one point.

My hope is that going out before eating breakfast and drinking only water with a little bit of unsweetened coffee beforehand will help train the fat burning system.

I not only ran hard yesterday noon, but also cycled hard on the way home. As a result, my legs were tired. Over the last couple or three kilometers, my hamstrings were feeling strained, particularly on my left leg. Yet I now have about 48 hours of relative rest with no aerobic exercise planned. So my body should be able to recover and get stronger.

My first week of actuals are now posted. Those count running but not riding.

Posted by Mark at 01:11 PM

July 01, 2005

3:11:46

Spent less time than last week biking, as it rained Wednesday and I therefore drove to work and back. This time represents almost 82.4 km (51.2 mi) at average of 25.7 kph (16.0 mph).

My odometer reads 1523.5 km (946.9 mi). It started counting last Christmas, so that's for about 1/2 year.

Posted by Mark at 08:37 PM

33:03/178

I need to go to the track and work on pace.

This was too fast for 8 km at marathon pace. I got to the halfway point at 16:19, 45 seconds too early.

But this was too slow for my heart rate. In other words, I'm more out of shape than I hoped I was. Needs lots of work.

Posted by Mark at 05:25 PM

June 30, 2005

23:21/156

Ran this morning's 5 km a little too fast for a recovery run. I had a busy day ahead and I guess I wanted to get it over with. Tomorrow I have to run 8 km at race pace, meaning I'm supposed to finish in about 34:08.

On the way home this evening I felt rested, so I tried to break my record holding 20 kph uphill. I got as far as the side road off to the fort. Only another few hundred meters left to make it all the way to the house. But I'm not going to work hard on that while also training for a marathon.

Posted by Mark at 08:51 PM

June 29, 2005

29:59/171

30-minute tempo run as planned. Ran a bit too hard starting out, and my right leg was bothering me on the outside above the ankle for the first 5 minutes. Today was hot although we've had a little rain.

Posted by Mark at 05:52 PM

June 28, 2005

38:59/154

This was only 20 seconds too fast for 8 km, compared to the easy/long time in my training schedule. I started out too fast and got to the halfway point at 18:36, but with the heart rate over 80% of max. Need to do something about that, or it'll be much too high at marathon pace, even as the weather cools off.

Posted by Mark at 01:41 PM

June 27, 2005

24:25/157

Using VDOT tables to calculate how long I should run for today's 5K, I managed to hit the time for my estimated VDOT (53), on the nose.

Unfortunately, it wasn't at a steady place the whole way.

Posted by Mark at 05:56 PM

June 26, 2005

Training for Halloween

Based on Hal Higdon's intermediate training II, I've set up a new training schedule to get me to the Halloween marathon in Grenoble.

There's plenty of running, but almost no speedwork compared to what I originally planned for this summer. On weeks when I don't feel up to all that training, I can drop a Monday or a Thursday. That might happen, giving that commuting to work by bike adds an extra four hours of exercise per week.

Posted by Mark at 10:14 AM

Inheritance and training

Dana claims I've progressed over the last couple of years of running to moving faster than he achieved, although he ran consistently over a period of years. Somewhere I read that an endurance athlete inherits key biological capacities for endurance, like mitochondrial density, from his mom. So perhaps Dana should blame Evelyn. Or I should thank Mom. (Too bad my mom's of German, rather than Kenyan, descent.)

That said, perhaps I'm not starting out with better raw material than Dana. He certainly worked at it much longer than I have. If I'm not getting this mixed up, he averaged over 1000 miles per year for 10 years at one point. Perhaps I'm benefitting from advances made in training runners.

I don't know the history of runner's training theory. Hal Higdon wrote that at one point, probably in the mid 50s, almost all anyone ran in training was intervals. Lots of coaches took the attitude that either you'd succeed in recovering from the training and getting faster, or you'd get dropped. There was a bit of that when I ran middle distance in junior high school. We had one guy who could run a 5-minute mile, and the rest of us were superfluous. Same problem running cross country.

That's reflects a good way for coaches to avoid wasting time with people who won't win, but it doesn't make much sense for people running as a hobby or a way of staying fit, where the primary competitors are our earlier selves. Dana started running during the 1970s, I guess, when the sport was finally being seen as something for normal adults to do. I imagine there wasn't nearly as much information about training available to the average adult runner as there was 30 years later when I started running again.

I remember Dana regularly running the same distances at about the same speed. He probably had heard about long slow distance and intervals, but not about tempo runs. He didn't have a heart monitor, and may not have thought about how to relate his lactate threshold or VDOT to his training. Also, today's idea that you must regularly shake up your routine, running different distances, different speeds in order to progress in your training, probably was not nearly as widespread.

It could be that my children will run faster than I do with less work. Even if their mother says she hates endurance exercise in general and jogging in particular.

Posted by Mark at 07:22 AM | Comments (2)

June 25, 2005

1:56:36/147

Yes, there are lots of boring entries like this. Bear with me. I'm not doing this because you want to read about my running, but because anybody running enough to consider it training should keep a log somewhere. Why? When you get injured, you can go back and check what you did that you should no longer do. Theoretically you can also review your progress, but I don't bother with that. Progress for a marathoner takes years.

Next week I begin training. Tomorrow I'm taking a rest. So today I ran 24.5 km (15.2 mi) before eating breakfast as a long jog. I used to run longer runs too fast, so I'm slowing down to focus on form. Notice my average heart rate was about 76% of my theoretical maximum. Maybe even that's too fast to work the fat burning mechanisms. What I'd like to achieve is an appreciable increase in the energy contribution from metabolism of fat.

It really boils down to ecology. Ideally you want to use only easily renewed energy sources that don't increase pollution and are available in abundance.

Posted by Mark at 11:08 AM | Comments (1)

June 24, 2005

25:47/159

After the party last night, nobody else was up to run this morning. So I ran a little faster than normal for Friday morning, but still only did the 6 1/4 km route.

Posted by Mark at 10:21 AM

Halloween?

Okay, so I am going to miss the marathon this year in Chambéry, but I can still train for the Marathon de Halloween in Grenoble. If I start an 18-week program next week I have just enough time.

I had planned summer training based on Hal Higdon's expert plan. (I'm not an expert, but I want to get better.) Since I'm biking a lot commuting to work, I may try something more intermediate. No use working really hard if it's only to get injured again.

Posted by Mark at 06:02 AM

June 23, 2005

New shoes

I've only been biking today, since over lunchtime I needed to pick up new running shoes. Rode downtown to Training 7, where I bought a different model of shoe from last time. This one gives me more pronation support.

The sales guy there said I ought to get a new pair of orthotics. He suggested doctors in St. Ismier near where I work, ones who make orthotics for runners and have you run on a treadmill rather than step on a plate.

He also suggested I consider lighter shoes for interval training or racing. He says they do have pairs now even for heavy guys like me (83 kg for 189 cm).

Posted by Mark at 04:38 PM

June 22, 2005

46:10/153

Stu and I ran up to Rochasson, starting at 12:30 pm. It was quite warm. When we got back, we bought lunch at a sandwich stand. The owner had a thermometer registering 37 C (99 F) on his counter.

We started off at a good warmup pace, then split up. I ran the hard uphill part at gradually increasing intensity, arriving at 96% of max. heart rate at the top of the shortcut and 95% in the parking area at Rochasson. It was easier than yesterday to let my heart rate drop back on the way down. We finished gently. My aim was to run downhill smoothly, so we took a different route down, turning up in Montbonnot rather than Meylan.

I've run many times without headache now. It seems that whatever the chiropractor did helped. It may also have been good to stop training, so I'm not pushing myself as much.

I push myself a bit cycling to and from work instead. Still have a long way to go before I can justify shaving my legs.

Posted by Mark at 08:22 PM

June 21, 2005

Holding 20 kph

There's a hill in front of the house. I climb it on the bike each night when I return home. It's not too steep, but nevertheless enough to push me down below 20 kph. I'd like to be able to ride all the way up to the house at over 20 kph, but to do that right now would give me a heart attack.

This evening I managed to hold it over 20 kph further than ever before. All the way to milestone maybe 100 m further than the end of the field and the beginning of the woods. That's about 300 m down, only maybe 750 m more to go.

Posted by Mark at 08:16 PM

39:44/149

Ran 5 km of the the 6 1/4 km with Stu at a comfortable jog during which we could chat. Then I continued on an extra 3 km or so, picking up the pace steadily for the first half of that until I hit 96% of max. heart rate and was wheezing too hard to catch my breath. Temperatures were about the same as yesterday, probably 32 or 33 C (90 or 92 F).

The funny thing was that my heart rate stayed quite high for the start of the cool down, although I dropped the pace. Maybe my body was having trouble cooling off.

Posted by Mark at 08:08 PM

June 20, 2005

54:48/148

It's a warm day and I felt sluggish. So I ran slowly. Not sure how far this was.

About 24 minutes into the run I started feeling warmed up, an unusually long wait. Didn't want to run for more than 1 hour, however, since I was losing lots of fluid through sweat, and had a meeting a 1:30 pm.

Posted by Mark at 04:21 PM | Comments (2)

June 18, 2005

1:01:43/164

Nathalie had a meeting to go to at 10 am, and I had to drop Tim off for school at 8:30 am, so I decided not to run long today.

Ran 14.7 km (9.1 mi) as three laps around Pontcharra with two drink breaks. Started at a relatively good pace and picked it up for the third lap ending flat out. If I remember correctly, my split after drinking the second time was 42:34. That would mean I ran the last 4.9 km (3 mi) in 19:07. No headache.

It would be nice to get efficient enough to run the first two laps at that pace, then pick it up and run the third in 17 minutes.

Most of the time this morning I worked on the feeling of steel and cotton, which is keeping your core straight and letting everything pivot around that as necessary. Even before reading Chi Running, I realized that running a long way fast comes not from power, but from smoothness and focus. Matt talks about "caning it." I guess that comes from the jockey, which is you, beating the horse's hindquarters, which is your body, with a cane to get the animal going as fast as possible. Perhaps that's the right approach to cycling. I don't know.

It's not the right approach to distance running. In distance running as I see it, you become a sort of control system for your body. To a large extent you're there only unconsciously firing the spark plugs that keep the engine turning over. People running slowly and well under their thresholds can then do a lot of thinking while they're running because the part of you that is conscious is not very involved. Yet when you focus, your consciousness switches over to monitor, test, adjust.

There's always more to monitor, test, and adjust than my consciousness can handle. At medium speed, my consciousness can more or less keep up, however. At high enough speed I lose it again and just run. My consciousness is not longer doing much more than fighting to keep the drum beating fast, to hold the tempo, to convince the whole body not to slow down. I cannot run like that for very long. My hope is that by short exposures to that sort of running, my body itself will gradually get better at finding the right adjustments, so medium speed will be slightly faster. Then my consciousness can get back to monitor, test, adjust, improving my form.

Posted by Mark at 10:23 AM

June 17, 2005

26:32/155

6.5 km as a jog. Nobody else wanted to run this morning.

Legs felt tired. In fact my whole body felt tired. No headache, however.

Posted by Mark at 10:30 AM

June 16, 2005

1:08:24/154

Distance speed for the first 9 km, then tempo speed up to 92% of max. heart rate at 12 km, then cool down again for the last 2 km.

I rode slightly slower than usual to and from the train today as well. Matt reminded me yesterday that different levels of training bring different improvements. You can improve your fat burning system and the density of capilaries in your muscles at slower speeds.

Posted by Mark at 08:20 PM

June 15, 2005

24:11/166

6.5 km (4 mi) at a hard pace. No headache. Ate and drank too much yesterday night with Stu and Lana over for dinner, so I tried to burn it off.

Posted by Mark at 08:27 PM

June 13, 2005

57:19/160

Ran relatively hard this noon. The first 2.5 km were warmup with Stu. Then I ran the old route along the Isère out under the bridge, back over to the road, up over the bridge and through the office park in Meylan.

Was hoping for rain as I warmed up, but no chance. It'll probably hit this evening while I'm riding to catch the train.

My head is decidedly more comfortable when I run harder. In the 75-80% max. heart rate range the headache might come back. Should try with a shorter run tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 02:16 PM

June 11, 2005

1:24:12/159

Ran 4 laps around Pontcharra, which is 19.6 km (12.2 mi). The time includes stops to drink, and one minute to give a guy directions to Montmélian. He was a smoker, and lit up while I was standing there next to his car door. I don't think it even occurred to him that I might not want to take a few lungfuls of secondhand cigarette smoke while out for my jog. He must've seen me as crazy to be out there running on my own, and asked me whether I run with other people.

How could anyone possibly want to go out there and run without even peer pressure to make him do it?

Not sure I have an answer for that. I've been putting off writing email to my colleagues for that reason. The thing is, Jerome suggested we get a coach who would be financed partly by comité d'entreprise money. We need to be a group of at least 5 people.

Jerome was thinking a coach could be someone to motivate you to get out there and run. I was thinking a coach could help you get more out of your training, and help you avoid making mistakes and getting injured. Hal Higdon wrote something up. "Who Needs a Coach?:"

...good coaches (and good coaching) can make good runners.
Coaches can provide inspiration and information, analysis and applause, support and sympathy.

If you don't know why you need to be a good runner, maybe you don't. Most runners probably ask themselves, like that guy asking for directions, why the heck we're doing it. The question usually seems to come when it hurts.

That's when you need the coach, I guess, for the second bunch of reasons. You don't want to turn yourself off to running, or get injured, or perform a lot worse than you could.

Running does have some positive side effects. You gradually get stronger, smoother, and that carries over into sports that are perhaps more fun. You feel less dumpy, and if you keep it up you eventually may even look better. Running can also burn stress away and leave you feeling straightened out. You can get that feeling from other endurance sports, too, but there are few workouts you can do as easily, year round, as running. So I guess I'd better go write that email.

Posted by Mark at 10:26 AM

June 10, 2005

41:27/121

Very, very slowly around the 6 1/4 km circuit with Karine and Didier. My legs are a little tired from cycling this week, so this was just to get some fresh air and chat.

Posted by Mark at 10:16 AM

June 09, 2005

1:14:32/147

This was a ride to Ravel and back with Matt and Greg. For a while there, I was working hard. Don't know about Matt. He said he got a workout, but it seemed I was breathing harder.

Interesting thing is that on a climb like this, I came out with an average of 147 bpm, 76% of max. Yet I was in the 65%-85% zone for only 18:10. On the way up, my heart rate was 170-175 (88-90%). On the way down, it was probably around 50%, not because of work but because of fear around corners.

Posted by Mark at 05:04 PM

June 08, 2005

27:03/151

About 6 km. First part gently chatting with Stu. Second part hard.

Posted by Mark at 06:23 PM | Comments (2)

June 07, 2005

26:23/155

Had a headache on getting up this morning. It finally subsided after I took paracetamol. Was very apprehensive about running, so I started at a very slow pace.

Going up a slight incline towards the hill behind the mairie in Montbonnot, the headache seemed to be coming back. I was reminded of something Stu said yesterday. Only while rock climbing has he been in situations where he had no other choice but to continue making upward progress. No easy way out.

So it took off up the hill at full tilt. Started losing speed 2/3 of the way up, and had to stop when I arrived at the top. My pulse was only about 182, but maybe being slightly ill prevented me from giving it everything I had. Then I ran hard downhill the long way around.

My head feels okay now.

Posted by Mark at 02:37 PM

June 06, 2005

1:00:42/151

Went on the first part of the 6 1/4 km route with Stu, then ran around the longer loop. Made it into a sort of tempo run by speeding up along the Isère by the Bois français.

My head hurt a little during the run, but everything's fine now. Maybe the laryngitis is bothering me. I hope it's temporary.

Posted by Mark at 02:34 PM

June 04, 2005

44:47/150

After breakfast this morning my body and head felt as if they'd been injected with warm vinegar. Strange and disagreeable feeling, like having heartburn all over. But all I'd had was toast, jam, and fruit juice, so I don't think it was food poisoning.

By 10 am that feeling was gone. I was only tired. For the last few days Diane's been a real pain to put to sleep. Then she gets up before 6 am. Nathalie's had it up to her ears with Diane's tantrums. Cannot figure it out.

As I started getting my wet running clothes on, I wondered whether I was going to get a headache. Thankfully I did not. Running when you're not injured is probably not fun for normal people, but it can be good. It can put your body back in order, and give you a feeling that's on the borderline between a sense of accomplishment and a sense of relief.

No headache, so I'm relieved.

I asked myself for the first three or four kilometers why I run. The answer cannot be fear of getting fat again. Nor am I getting ready to run the marathon in Chambéry. It's not even a habit, because my runs are too varied for that. My nominal goal is a sub-3-hour marathon, but I don't think about that much.

I seem to be running because I... enjoy is too strong... appreciate it, in the sense of seeing some value in it.

No wonder other people would rather play soccer or ride mountain bikes.

Posted by Mark at 11:32 AM

June 03, 2005

1:02:02/145

Ran with colleagues this morning. Karine's idea was that we run before noon to avoid the heat. Didier got in a traffic jam and we didn't get started until after 9 am. It's nice to have a job where you don't have to chain yourself to your desk at any particular hour.

Didier and Phil went ahead, but not too much. I stayed back with Karine. She paced me well. The first lap around the 6 1/4 km route took us 39 minutes. My head was fine, no pain. So I decided to do another lap. That one apparently took me 23 minutes. So my heart rate was 145 bpm average, but that was 125 around the first lap and 170 around the second.

It's probably a good thing Karine started me off slowly. That may have given my body time to loosen up before working hard.

Karine asked me why I always do things à fond. Don't know what to say to that. From my vantage point what I do looks slow, sloppy, unfinished, mediocre. I'm basically a fat, lazy slob in a temporarily healthy-looking body.

In fact what was probably really bothering me about the headaches was not the pain, or even the difficulty of running itself. It was the sense of impending doom. A few months without exercise and I'd blimp out and start having bad skin and back pains.

Posted by Mark at 08:46 PM

June 02, 2005

1:02:49/167

On the way home this evening my calves were cramping a little. I rode fairly hard. But the hill between La Buissière and Barraux knocked me flat.

So I drank lots of mineral water and ate a bunch of baked zucchini, cold green bean salad, and some lentils, then fresh strawberries with wheat germ for dessert. Aiming to get my vitamins and minerals so I won't get cramps during the night.

No headache, but then of course I don't get them on the bike.

Posted by Mark at 08:32 PM

57:52/177

My bike computer says I averaged 32.4 kph (20.1 mph) from home to work this morning. I've done better. On several descents this morning I got cut off by cars turning left. There were simply too many of them on the road.

By the halfway point I was averaging 33 kph, awash in lactate agony. 177 avg. bpm is about 91% of my max. heart rate running, so something is out of whack. Plus I forgot to tell the mayors of all the towns between home and work that I was doing a time trial today. That explains why they failed to shut down the roads and I had to apply the brakes so often.

Bernin should be renamed, something with connotations of "pain" and "hillside."

Posted by Mark at 08:57 AM

May 29, 2005

39:45/156

When it gets warm, Nathalie complains about leg pain. She says it's bad circulation. I'm trying to avoid bad circulation by keeping my blood flowing and my heart in reasonable condition. It was too hot to sit around, so I got on the bike and rode to La Rochette.

The valley between Pontcharra and La Rochette is generally cooler than the Isère valley. I was hoping there'd be a breeze. Then when I got to the roundabout at the edge of Pontcharra, I decided to push it through the gradual climb up to La Rochette. Won't be able to ride much tomorrow if we have storms in the afternoon. And the chiropractor is probably going to tell me, "No efforts for 48 hours," after he treats me.

My initial aim was to hold the pace above 20 mph (32.1 kph) uphill until the roundabout at the lake by La Rochette. Failed miserably. Each time I'd get and hold the speed above the mark, I could tell it wasn't going to last. The incline is not that even, either. In spots doing 20 mph isn't that hard. In others 29 kph (18 mph) can be tough to maintain. But I worked at it. Was sweating a lot by the time I reached the roundabout on the other end.

Upon starting downhill at the intersection where you can go straight to Pontcharra or left to Allevard, I decided I wanted to hold it over 40 kph (24.9 mph) all the way back to the edge of Pontcharra. That I managed, only once or twice slipping below 42 kph (26.1 mph). I found the right cadence was around 108, but shifted only when increasing above 110 or below 105. At that number of rpms, you keep the heart pumping even if you're down on the drops, getting enough blood and oxygen to your legs to keep them relatively fresh. Plus you don't have to push hard against big gears.

Posted by Mark at 08:55 PM

37:02/159

Ran over to Chapareillan and back around 10 am. My back was bothering me at the outset and my head hurt a bit while running. Picking up the pace sometimes helps, so I ran the middle hard, making this a tempo run. That lessened the aches somewhat.

The heat was already starting to build. Eventually during the afternoon we had a max. temperature around 33 C (91 F) in the shade. That's high for late May. It was also quite humid. I've lost weight since 2003, however, so 33 doesn't seem as hot as it used to.

Posted by Mark at 08:42 PM

May 28, 2005

1:35:54/158

Rode the bike this morning to avoid getting a headache. Added some sprints and longer repeats because the last hard workout was Wednesday.

My stats on the bike for this week counting three round trips to work:

*Includes walking the bike with the computer attached, especially around train stations and in trains.

I have an appointment with the chiropractor Monday afternoon. My hope is that he'll have a better understanding of what's wrong and be able to give me some stretches or exercises to fix the problem long term.

Posted by Mark at 02:15 PM

May 27, 2005

20:05/138

Jogged over to the gym. Came back after only a couple of laps. Bad headache that's still with me. Took a pill, but that's either not taken effect yet or it's worse that usual. Felt like the problem was even affecting my sight.

My back was still threatening to seize up this morning. In contrast to early problems, the latest headaches come with pain in my upper back and burn in the neck right away before reaching up to the head.

Guess this is curtains for the Chambery marathon. This is supposed to be the second week of training.

Posted by Mark at 01:10 PM

May 25, 2005

26:19/162

6.5 km (4 mi) run. Headache, which has since disappeared. Lower back felt like it was going to seize up while I leaned over the water cooler.

Posted by Mark at 10:55 AM

May 24, 2005

31:01/165

30-minute tempo run. Out in 17, back in 14. Speeding up pushed the headache into the background, but I still need to get more treatment.

Posted by Mark at 05:52 PM

May 23, 2005

38:06/146

Ran over to the gym, exercised for a few minutes. I couldn't get myself to do anything that involved moving the legs while in push-up position with my arms on the floor. Bad headache pain. Guess I need to see the doctor(s) again to say what we tried isn't working.

Posted by Mark at 01:16 PM

May 22, 2005

1:30:12/149

19.6 km (12.2 mi) as a 3/1 run. Was supposed to go run a half marathon in St. Marcellin this morning, but I didn't wake up early enough and the alarm was an hour late.

Neck and upper back hurt for the first two laps, then was just generally tight. Today I didn't feel like running at all. I'm apprehensive each run until it's over. At this rate I may not even try to run the Chambery marathon in September.

Posted by Mark at 02:20 PM

May 19, 2005

Riding around

Today the weather's warm and clear. After breakfast I went for a ride around some of the villages. Down to Ste Anne d'Évenos, Le Beausset, Le Castellet, Le Brulat, La Cadière d'Azur, St Cyr sur mer, Bandol, Sanary sur mer, Le Brusc, up near Notre Dame du Mai, Fabrégas, Les Sablettes, La Seyne sur mer, Toulon, Les Pomets, up through the Col du Corps de Garde, down to Le Broussan, and back here to Évenos and the bed and breakfast.

Didn't take enough water, and took too many supplies. The backpack felt particularly heavy up from Toulon to the Col du Corps de Garde.

Spent about 3 1/2 hours riding with a couple of stops at the seaside. 87.7 km.

Posted by Mark at 09:55 PM

May 18, 2005

1:15:41/155

Jogged this morning down to Le Beausset, back up to the lookout point in Évenos, then back to the bed and breakfast.

No headache at this point. Maybe it's the lack of stress during the day.

The roundabout where I turned back in Le Beausset is at 168 m above sea level. Évenos is at 361 m according to the IGN map of this area. Ste Anne d'Évenos in the middle is at 146 m.

Posted by Mark at 09:38 PM

May 17, 2005

25:08/162

3 x 400 m hills this morning. Ran past Évenos and back to warm up. Some headache pain during the warmdown.

Posted by Mark at 09:18 PM

May 13, 2005

1:14:18/153

Ran over to the gym, worked out, came back. Headache almost immediately and for the duration. Maybe I just need to lay off a while. Not sure I can run a half-marathon by the end of next week.

Posted by Mark at 04:10 PM

May 12, 2005

34:57/140

Jogged and walked around the 6 1/4 km circuit. Stopped to walk each time my head hurt, which was too often. Very discouraging.

Posted by Mark at 03:18 PM

May 10, 2005

24:37/160

Ran the 6 1/4 km loop with a long acceleration in the middle along the Isère. No headache while running.

Posted by Mark at 09:01 PM

May 09, 2005

1:17:05/146

Ran to the gym and back today. My head didn't hurt while running, but exercises on the floor with the head held out straight, such as push ups, were all quite painful.

Posted by Mark at 01:35 PM

May 08, 2005

2:27:45/156

Nathalie stayed with the children while I got out on the bicycle. The weather this morning was perfect for a long run, a bit windy and chilly early for a long ride. I overdressed and ran out of water too soon, but otherwise everything went fairly well. Even got to increase my max. speed since getting the bike computer: 70.1 kph (43.6 mph) downhill on the D 204. Still need to go uphill somewhere if I want to go very fast.

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm injured.

I can go out for about 2 1/2 hours on the bicycle doing almost 75 km (47 km) at 30.4 kph (18.9 mph) average -- in other words, a reasonable workout for my condition -- but start running and I get a very painful headache.

Hope the chiropracter can put me right. I'd like to go to the track this afternoon and practice timing, but dread the pain in advance.

Posted by Mark at 11:12 AM | Comments (2)

May 05, 2005

40:54/145

Anguish is slightly too strong to describe most of today's run. My head hurt enough that I stopped to walk twice. Less than a kilometer into this 8 km run, I was seriously contemplating turning back. Another kilometer and I couldn't seriously contemplate, period.

The only good thing about this is how it forces me to run as smoothly as possible. Even minor jarring sends stabs of pain up the back of my head and around to the temples.

The nose sprays have done nothing noticeable. Looks like I need to see the physical therapist if I want to continue running, or pulling weeds for that matter. Either that or find some way to get prescription heroin.

Posted by Mark at 04:05 PM

May 04, 2005

1:08:46/156

Had a headache from the beginning almost to the end. The headache's gone now.

Did this one as a fast finish run, going steady at a relatively easy pace the first 12 km, then gradually speeding up to finish at an all out sprint over the last 2 km. So my heart rate most of the time was about 150, though I finished at almost 190.

Posted by Mark at 02:02 PM

May 03, 2005

33:42/137

Didier and I chatted through 6 1/4 km. I aim to take it easy this week.

Posted by Mark at 02:34 PM

May 02, 2005

55:52/150

It was warm in the gym today. Took it easy. My legs are not completely healed, yet. My pulse didn't get up to 90% even on the sprints, whereas before the marathon I went up to 95-96% every time.

Posted by Mark at 03:30 PM

May 01, 2005

2:00:55/142

I started this morning's 24.5 km (15.2 mi) run at about 7:15 am when it was still chilly, and ran steadily at long-run pace, aiming for 8-minute miles. My pulse was fairly low, at 73% of max. heart rate on average. That speed theoretically coincides with the body's learning to burn more fat for energy while running, and with muscle adaptations that involve packing more mitochondria into the fibers used for distance running.

From the outset I felt ragged, however. My head hurt for the first 6 km or so. Thereafter I had a few jolts of headache pain, but tried to keep my footfalls gentle and steady to prevent them. At only 8 km I started having a slight ache in my left inner thigh. Those muscles never bothered me until I got near the end of the marathon, when out of nowhere they started cramping. Maybe they're not completely healed. My legs felt unusually tired and heavy. My stride was quite short.

Perhaps I should back off this coming week. According to my blog I've done almost 9 hours of aerobic exercise this week counting bike rides. After this interim period the summer training plan starts. I want to be more focused and in good shape for that.

Posted by Mark at 10:05 AM

April 30, 2005

46:56/157

Today I didn't plan to run far, just down to the track in Pontcharra and back. I wanted to practice 5 km at race pace (1:42/400 m; 21:20/5 km) at the track. In rereading Hal Higdon's book about marathon training, I notice he has the experts do training at race pace to memorize the feel. Definitely something I need to work at. I'm not good at estimating my speed.

Nothing felt right. My head hurt. I was overheating. My legs were having to work. My breathing was too hard for the pace. My pulse rose to 170. So after only 8 laps I gave up and practiced a 2-minute/400 m pace instead for the next three laps, then ended with 600 m at race pace.

When I rounded the corner coming home from the track, I saw the thermometer at Monsieur Bricolage registering 31 C (88 F). It was about 5 pm. Their thermometer seems to sit in the sun, but even our thermometer at home said 27 C (81 F). So the heat, the headache, and all the time I spent mowing the lawn was probably getting to me.

I'll try to get out early tomorrow for a long run. Metcheck.com predicts 13 C (55 F) at 7 am, rising to 18 C (64) at 10 am. And I'll take plenty to drink.

Posted by Mark at 06:22 PM

April 29, 2005

About an hour

Went for 14 km today during lunchtime. I forgot my watch this morning, so did a sort of jog with fartlek, taking time to stretch after a couple of kilometers. After about 9 km, I started getting dehydrated. Will need to drink more at temperatures above 25 C.

Posted by Mark at 02:38 PM

April 28, 2005

1:22:03/140

What wonderful weather for a bike ride! Went out with German, Colette, and Matt, up to Tencin and back down the valley. Colette has to race this Sunday, so we took it easy and enjoyed the sunshine.

Posted by Mark at 03:17 PM

April 27, 2005

1:06:34/159

Riding home, there was a bit of a breeze coming down the valley. But since I had shorts and a t-shirt on, I was a little more comfortable than I've been in a while.

Two hours of riding sure helps me work up an appetite.

Posted by Mark at 08:12 PM

1:02:18/158

Rode into work today with a big pack on my back. At about 10 C (50 F) it was a little cold on the toes and knees, but it felt good to get some exercise after spending the whole day in the car yesterday.

At this point I've been hacking away at my mail for an hour and still have 405 unread messages in my Inbox not to mention all the stuff that got filtered.

Posted by Mark at 08:42 AM

April 25, 2005

1:36:37/157

My legs are not ready to resume regular training yet. A month ago, I could run 19.5 km like this in less than 90 minutes during training with none of the pain I felt today. Maybe I should just slow down for a while, do some jogging as the legs heal completely. Although I might get out of shape from going too slowly, I won't be able to train effectively with tired, sore legs.

The weather was inclement this morning. I got soaked twice during the run. My polar fleece top was heavy like a sponge.

It felt too good to finish today. Will have to take tomorrow off, not just for my legs, but also because we have to drive back to Barraux.

Posted by Mark at 11:43 AM

April 24, 2005

Day off, part VII

Although my legs feel fine, I'm taking today off. Perhaps tomorrow I'll run a bit longer. Three laps around the lake would be almost 20 km, enough to see whether everything is in order to resume training.

Posted by Mark at 10:08 AM

April 23, 2005

1:05:06/159

Ran a bit faster than yesterday, and went around the lake twice (13 km). My legs feel stronger, but my stride remains short and I'm not running too smoothly from the hips down.

Will probably rest tomorrow to give the muscles more time to heal.

Posted by Mark at 12:08 PM

April 22, 2005

33:08/154

Another recovery run around the lake. I'd've liked to go further, but my legs have not yet recovered completely. Walked a mile and stretched afterwards.

Saw a stream chock full of catfish. So many they were dying and turning belly up.

Posted by Mark at 11:31 AM

April 21, 2005

35:30/149

Stumbled through 6.5 km (4 mi) this morning, just to start running again, around the lake next to Barbotan.

Tim went with me and was disappointed to find the lake nearly empty with lots of crud around the banks. When I came around the last bend, he was raging about the "pollution."

My legs do not hurt any more when I walk around, but running is still rough 96 hours after the marathon.

Posted by Mark at 11:12 AM

April 20, 2005

Soreness, part II

My legs feel much better than yesterday at this time, despite the long drive. I was able to stay in bed until a few minutes ago. Walking on flat surfaces feels as if I'd just gone for a long run, but not hit the wall.

For my next big bout of training, I'm going to need to work on speed and form, but also on long distance endurance. Somehow I need to learn to run a little faster while conserving my glycogen stores.

Posted by Mark at 06:42 AM

April 17, 2005

And the 10k

Stu ran a PR as well, taking something on the order of 2 minutes off his previous best 10 km time. Fantastic!

And let me tell you he looked infinitely better than I felt when we met up just after the finish line.

Posted by Mark at 05:42 PM

3:15:43/167

Well, I didn't overheat. Stu was listening to one of the elite runners being interviewed. That runner assessed conditions for today's marathon as "apocalyptic."

A couple of shots before the race. One riding in, one getting to the parking lot.

autoroute-20050417.jpg lyon-20050417.jpg

At least it wasn't snowing much in Lyon. But I didn't take the camera out of the car. It was too wet.

Until about kilometer 3, I was stuck in the crowd. It took me almost 23 minutes to do the first 5. I was getting warm and decided to chuck my polar fleece top, running in t-shirt, shorts, and thin gloves before it became too late to do so without getting cold.

After kilometer 5 it started raining hard. By kilometer 10, everyone's shoes were sodden. Squelch, squelch, squelch. There were spots where you couldn't avoid the runoff.

At only halfway, my calves were so cold they started to cramp. So I concentrated on running as relaxed as possible. The clock read 1:33 something just after 21.1 km. At that point I realized it wasn't going to be possible today for me to run a 3:00 marathon. Immediately after that I went over a bridge across the river, chatting with a guy running roughly my speed. He was aiming at 3:10-3:15.

On the bridge we watched those big metal dividers they'd used to help mark the route and keep the cars out getting blown over onto the asphalt by huge gusts of rain-laden wind. The guy observed: "Heureusement on l'aura dans le dos de l'autre côté." (Good thing it'll be to our backs on the other side.)

Just before 30 km, I had the typical slight irritations, like a sock getting bunched up under my right big toe. We saw the elite runners coming past us in the other direction. One thin guy was still wearing a ski cap. He looked quite comfortable, striding beautifully.

After 30 km, I was getting cramps I never get, on the insides and tops of my thighs. After about 32 km, I hit the proverbial wall.

My dim understanding of the wall before today was that it was related to getting to the end of your glycogen, and having to burn just fat. I believe it hit me early today partly because my body was having to keep everything warm enough to run, and partly because I didn't start carbo loading early enough in the week. I was too worried about gaining weight and not digesting food before the marathon.

My understanding of the wall now is that it's not something you get over. It just keeps getting worse. So I hung in there, wondering if I'd ever want to do this again. I kept running. I saw guys walking and was sorely tempted, but didn't give in. The 4 kms left at kilometer 38 were sure to be the four longest I'd ever run in my life.

Then we went into the park, getting near the stadium. We went on a path under a bridge and had to run through several meters of unavoidable icewater. How weird that it almost felt good.

All through the 30s I was losing speed. My heart rate was dropping to 78% of my max. I was not breathing hard. From the waist up, I actually felt quite cold, but otherwise fine, as if I had a huge reserve left. I tried to pick up the pace. Just couldn't do it. In retrospect, I realized I'd probably run a little too fast in the second 10 km without really noticing it. Back then I was sometimes almost at my threshold.

Seeing the 41 km sign gave me a big boost, but all I could do was hang in there. At the 42 km mark on the road, I thought, "Two weeks ago, you ran your last of 15 200 m intervals in 36 seconds. Come on, go for it." It was 200 m, but it seemed like about 400.

Stu did say that I looked fairly strong coming to the finish line. He'd seen one guy dragging his left leg along with his arms, and another that crossed the line only to vomit immediately afterward. I noticed the guy I'd been running with around halfway and around 30 km. He was just getting something to drink and a cookie. So he didn't beat me that badly.

In summary, my time wasn't great, but as Stu said, it's unlikely that conditions will be this bad next time. My legs are not yet ready to consider a next time. Right now walking up steps takes about 10 times as long normal, and hurts. But I'm sure with more mileage, speedwork, more long runs, I can beat today next time.

Posted by Mark at 04:54 PM

April 15, 2005

Cold rain, snow, and some wind, part II

Metcheck.com now predicts the temperature in Lyon won't rise above 3 C until 1 pm, the wind out of the northeast will blow at over 20 mph all morning, and that a mix of snowflakes and rain will fall until mid afternoon. Yahoo Weather's less conclusively bleak.

I'm hoping Yahoo's right, that vitamins and throat lozenges will beat my sore throat, that my headache will clear up by then, and that I'll sleep more than 5 hours tonight. Maybe I'll just have to take it easy and finish Sunday rather than try to run my first marathon fast.

Mom suggests echinacea for the sore throat. Couldn't get away from work today to go to the pharmacy. Will try tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 07:59 PM

April 14, 2005

15:11/150

Slow, short jog with a couple of strides to break a sweat. This is the probably the last until Sunday morning.

Posted by Mark at 03:10 PM

April 13, 2005

Speeds and thresholds

If what I ran today was in fact 6.5 km, the time translates to 3:53/km (6:15/mi), meaning I could run 23 seconds slower per km (37 seconds per mi) and still finish the marathon in 180 minutes. Would be nice, but we'll see.

Boy, I'm really getting obsessive about my time, aren't I?

Posted by Mark at 08:12 PM

25:13/168

Ran 6.5 km (4 mi) this noon at as brisk a pace as I could go comfortably without forcing it. Planning a gentle and short run for tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 06:33 PM

April 12, 2005

Getting fat, part II

Although I'm thinner than I've been most of my adult life, I've rarely felt as fat as I have since Sunday morning. Seeing Salim Kipsang and Paul Biwott finish the marathon in Paris, I'm reminded how much room for improvement is left. Think intergalactic void.

Posted by Mark at 09:33 PM

21:48/168

I changed routes, starting uphill to Rochasson, but then coming back down after reaching the national road. All I can say is I certainly hope I measured my route incorrectly, that it wasn't really 5 km (3.1 mi).

Posted by Mark at 12:54 PM

April 10, 2005

54:10/153

Nathalie decided we need to do some shopping tomorrow morning. She wants to redo the carpeting and wallpaper in our bedroom, and she feels I should be there to help her pick it out. Helping her pick it out in this case means keeping Diane from climbing the walls.

As I have some yard work to finish up tomorrow, there won't be a convenient time to bike. Furthermore, the weather's drier and slightly warmer than expected today. It was 7 C (45 F) right before I went downstairs to get my gear on at 1:44. The skies are clear, but the wind is strong coming down the valley from Chambéry.

Probably still a lot more pleasant than Paris-Roubaix. The guys are riding on asphalt right now, and it doesn't appear to be raining. But there are enough cobblestones on that route to knock anyone's fillings loose.

Posted by Mark at 03:06 PM

Marathon de Paris

Today is the Paris Marathon. Metcheck.com says it's not as cold there (7 C) as it is here (3 C).

The guys in front just passed 30 km with a time of 1:30:38 or something like that. It's not world-record speed, but it's nevertheless blazingly fast. Some of the folks in front still look incredibly smooth after 90 minutes at 20 kph. I'd love to be able to run like that at 16-17 kph.

One thing I notice is they have lots of bottled water at the refreshment stands, but I don't see the sports drink. Hope I don't have to do Lyon on water alone.

Posted by Mark at 10:16 AM

April 09, 2005

Training times, part V

The volume went down a lot this week. My actual times are posted in the usual location.

As Hal Higdon writes, this final upcoming week before the race is "devoted to rest." In other words I'm going to be irritable, frustrated, and worried.

Posted by Mark at 10:46 AM

1:09:43/151

Today's wet and cold outing was 4 laps around my circuit in La Gache, 14 km (8.7 mi). This week I worked on speed Tuesday and Wednesday, stamina Thursday, strength at the gym Monday and Friday. Today, Saturday, I decided to hold the pace at the limit between jogging and running. In other words go as fast as I could jogging, but without running, aiming to keep my heart rate under 80%.

151 average is a bit over 77% of max. heart rate for me. At this pace as soon as I stop my breathing goes to normal. It turns out the pace is 4:59/km (8:01/mi).

It seems like that should be a comfortable pace, but it isn't really. I'm constantly holding myself back. My mind wanders. It even gets boring after about 45 minutes. So why do it? Not sure, it just felt appropriate.

Posted by Mark at 10:22 AM

April 08, 2005

55:23/149

Last workout at the gym before the marathon. I'm taking next Monday and Friday off to rest and heal for the big push.

Posted by Mark at 03:32 PM

April 07, 2005

38:25/175

Must've been less than 10 km, judging by my time. Yet I ran hard the whole way.

I cut out one of the corners of the run, which would've made it 10 1/2 or 11 km.

After today, I'm starting to ramp down. Healing for the big event. My right calf is a little sore.

Posted by Mark at 09:11 PM

Getting fat

The mileage is dropping, but my appetite's not dropping off yet.

I'm getting fat. Was 84.5 kg this morning. Not sure whether that's just a reflection of overeating last night, or the start of a bad trend.

Posted by Mark at 08:57 PM

April 06, 2005

3x1600m, total 17:02

It's supposed to rain starting tomorrow. So I cut the grass for the first time this year when we got back home in the afternoon. Also I hoped to see the doctor for my headache before he closed. I didn't have much time to run, and had Timothee to watch while I did it. I traded tomorrow's 3 miles for today's 6 which I'll run tomorrow.

What I actually did was 3 reps of 1600 m each, each 9 m less than a mile, at the track in Pontcharra. Rep 1 was 5:45/175 max. heart rate, then I stretched and waited until my heart rate dropped back to about 70, which took almost 7 minutes. My pulse drops down to about 100 very quickly, but then takes more time to go much lower.

Rep 2 was 5:39/180 max., and a 5 minute wait. My heart rate dropped only to 90, but I was looking at my watch and worried I wouldn't make it before the doctor closed. Rep 2 felt easier than rep 1.

Rep 3 was 5:38/188 max. The last 400 m of rep 3 felt harder than the last 400 m of rep 2.

I now notice these were faster than suggested at McMillan running for my current fitness. McMillan says to run them in the almost 5:57 to 6:10 range for long distance runners. It's true that to hold today's pace my form suffers some during the last lap as my breathing becomes labored.

Posted by Mark at 09:37 PM

April 05, 2005

40:46/137

Went about 6 1/2 km with Karine, Didier, and Eric this noon. We jogged slowly and chatted. I threw in a few accelerations for fun. A nice way to do reps since I could go out several hundred meters, then jog back and come back down to 60-65% heart rate before doing another rep.

Yesterday I spoke with Irene who comes in Mondays to work with Sun people who want to do calisthenics and stretching more than aerobics like we do with Vincent. Irene's running an ultra, 120 km over several days, in the desert soon. She said she'd be glad to coach people who want to run. Just need to get my story straight about exactly what we want from a coach.

Posted by Mark at 01:34 PM

April 04, 2005

59:52/152

This was the workout at the gym. It involved a lot of bursts, like interval training. I decided not to run to the gym as well, since this is a step back week from a step back week.

Posted by Mark at 08:38 PM

April 03, 2005

1:27:01/152

Ran the 19.6 km (12.2 mi) as a 3/1 distance run, finishing the first three laps around Pontcharra in just over 1:07, then speeding up for the final lap. I didn't eat breakfast or drink sports drink, just water. My original intention was not to speed up at the end, but the morning air was chilly and I felt like burning off the feeling of having been cooped up yesterday.

What I don't understand is why my pulse stayed so low overall. 152 is 78% of my observed max. heart rate, yet I'd moved into the mid 80%s picking up the pace to finish. After the first lap, I had to take my left shoe off to remove a pebble. My heart monitor read 44% (86 bpm) when I got the shoe tied again, which only took 30 seconds, 45 at most counting the time to have a drink and straighten my sock.

My actuals are updated to include the workouts this week. With the biking I did, I still managed to average over an hour of exercise per day. The next two weeks are time to taper, so the volume's going to drop.

Posted by Mark at 10:00 AM

April 01, 2005

1:08:33/155

Rode home again, taking it relatively easy. Three frustrations:

Other than that, it was a beautiful day to ride, despite the headwind coming back.

Posted by Mark at 07:26 PM

1:01:33/156

Rode into work this morning not pushing too hard. My original intention was not to sweat, so I don't have sweaty riding clothes to don for the ride back this evening. That didn't work. My backup intention was not to ride too hard, because my calves hurt a little after the intervals yesterday. That I managed to do.

Commuting unfortunately means you have to slow down sometimes when you don't want to. I even stopped for about a minute at one light. (Actual ride time according to the bike computer: 59:49) I also had to skip the second sprint down from St. Ismier. On the first sprint, I got to a max. of 68.3 kph (42.4 mph). When my speed reached about 55 kph, the cars ahead were slowing, riding too close to the divider on the left for me to feel comfortable passing.

Posted by Mark at 09:41 AM

March 31, 2005

30:59/166

The time on this one means nothing, but the heart rate is interesting considering that the real workout lasted less than 10 minutes and the rest of the time I was either standing still or jogging slowly.

The core of it was 3000 m, chopped into 200 m slices. I gave myself a minute including each slice plus the recovery interval, running the 200 m slices in just under 39 seconds at the slowest to 36 seconds at the fastest, which was the last of the 15. This was therefore close to Matt's killer interval workout suggestion of 15 reps with 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off.

By the end I was only barely managing to stop wheezing before having to launch into the next 200 m. Since I don't recall thinking about my form after about the 10th rep, my form was probably falling apart. But I feel much better after this workout than the last time I did it, long ago. My recovery rate is significantly better. Looking forward to more concentrated speedwork this summer.

Posted by Mark at 01:03 PM

March 30, 2005

1:13:44/149

Ran the 14.5 km (9 mi) route, starting with Didier at a slow jog for the first 5 km, then accelerating into the middle, throwing in a couple of strides and warming down to race pace, then slower.

Tried using one of those sugar gels which Matt and Colette recommend for the closing miles of the marathon. Don't think I'll try to take any along with me. Not only do I have to carry the packets in my hands up to 30 km, the gel's also hard to eat at race pace without suffocating.

Posted by Mark at 12:52 PM

March 29, 2005

37:24/162

Felt tired and slightly sore for today's roughly 8 km (5 mi) run. The sun's shining. It was warm enough to run without a shirt. Concentrated on my form, keeping my back straight, and picking up my legs rather than forcing the pace.

Posted by Mark at 12:42 PM

March 28, 2005

1:17:34/157

Today is a day off in France, Easter Monday. It was supposed to rain. It did rain in the early morning. But the sky started clearing at 9:30, so I got out for a late morning ride.

The roads were messy. My legs felt sore from the run Saturday. My average speed to Chambéry and back was 30.5 kph (not quite 19 mph). I did it as a tempo ride, working the hardest down the stretch of bike path after crossing the tracks outside Chambéry out to Myans and along the road through Les Marches to Chapareillan.

I actually rode the 39.13 km in less than 1:17:34. But I wore winter gear including gloves and had to start and stop the heart monitor before and after the actual ride. It turned out I'd worn too much clothing. By the end felt like an overweight guy riding in a rubber suit, pretending the weight lost was fat.

Rereading Hal Higdon's chapter in Marathon entitled "The Magic Taper," I realized that this third-to-last week is more a step back from a hard week than a serious drop off in training. So today included speedwork, a couple of sprints and a lengthy push in the middle. Thursday might be a good day for a last dose of what Matt calls "potent medecine," the longest 14:40 you'll ever do, with an 8-10 minute warm up and warm down on either end.

Posted by Mark at 11:28 AM

March 26, 2005

Training times, part IV

Another week averaging over an hour of exercise a day, even if I rest tomorrow. This week I ran about 74 km (46 mi), counting what I did to run to and from the gym but none of the running inside. At this point, the longest run I have left before the race is 19.6 km (12.2 mi) next weekend. Time to start tapering.

Somehow I'm going to have to taper my appetite as well. Don't want to get to the starting line weighing in at 100 kg, which is roughly how bad it was two years ago when I started running. (My weight now is about 83 kg.)

Posted by Mark at 02:59 PM | Comments (1)

2:24:45/166

Yesterday I told Matt I didn't know what pace to run in the marathon. He asked me how much training I had left. I told him today was going to be my last long run, about 20 miles. He suggested I try my marathon pace today, which come to think of it is what Hal Higdon suggests in his book for novices like me.

So I ran my circuit in Pontcharra, which is 4.9 km, 7 times. That's 34.3 km (21.3 mi). My pace was 4:13/km (6:47/mi). The last lap became unpleasant at that speed, especially the very end. My form was starting to fall apart. In other words, I don't think I could do a whole lot better at this point in my training.

Greg McMillan's calculator doesn't have a slot for 21.3 mi. But 20 is to 21.3 as x is to 2:24:45, where x = 2:15:55, my approximate time for 20 mi. Greg's calculator predicts a 3:01:01 marathon.

My legs are sore right now, but I'm tempted to go for it in Lyon, to try to hang in there with the 3:00 pace team. Will have to see how I feel over the next 48 hours.

Posted by Mark at 11:53 AM

March 25, 2005

Spring ride

Dana sent mail, having gone for a spring ride of 22 mi (over 35 km) at 43-44 F (6-7 C) with pretty strong ENE winds. He'd been riding inside on the trainer. When he went out he clothed himself thoroughly, writing, "I dressed quite warm since I do not use your strategy of simply riding harder if you get cold." True, that only works up to a point.

Maybe I'll go for a ride here to unwind after tomorrow's run, but for now Metcheck.com shows lots of raindrops, and Yahoo Weather shows rain until next Thursday.

Posted by Mark at 08:38 PM

1:10:02/147

Took it easy at the gym today to avoid being tired for tomorrow's big run.

Posted by Mark at 02:14 PM

March 24, 2005

49:08/146

Gentle run 9 km up to Rochasson and back with Jerome. Taking it easy before the long run this weekend.

Posted by Mark at 01:58 PM

March 23, 2005

1:10:37/168

Today's 16 km (10 mi) run is the longest Wednesday in what Matt refers to as my Fat Fighter's Marathon Training Program. I did it out and back twice on the 8 km route.

Couldn't decide what I was trying to do until after looking at my split for the first 4 km, which was about 18:46 or something like that. I started thinking it would be nice to do it in under 72 minutes, which is 4:30/km. Only too late did I realize I probably still could've done it in under 70 minutes (7:00/mi) had I been paying attention.

The weather is warm today by comparison, 17 C (63 F), and sunny. I took off my shirt for the second half as I was losing the tape to prevent chafing.

Posted by Mark at 02:37 PM

March 22, 2005

42:37/153

Went up to Rochasson with Stu today. Nice day to run, about 10 C (50 F) and almost raining.

Took it easy until I got to the climb and then worked hard uphill. Tried to glide back down, but it's hard to stay smooth enough. Everything feels okay right now, however.

Update: I measured the climb to Rochasson and back on an IGN map with the map wheel. The total distance is 9 km (5.6 mi).

Posted by Mark at 12:18 PM

March 21, 2005

1:15:40/150

Ran over to the gym today, which I usually don't do on Mondays because it's about 2 km away and I don't take the time. This session was cardiovascularly easier than Friday. We did more muscle work. My legs are tired.

Posted by Mark at 01:37 PM

March 19, 2005

1:43:09/161

Ran the first 21 km (13 mi) in 1:37:12, jogging for the first 17 km, then picking up the pace to finish fast. My last not quite mile, 1500 m, was over in 5:57 ending in an all-out sprint, as suggested on McMillanRunning.com for fast finish long runs.

My actuals are updated. In my program, which is based on Hal Higdon's but includes cross training too, this is a step back week. Given the ride Monday, however, I managed to average over an hour of aerobic exercise per day including a complete rest day tomorrow.

Next week builds up to 32 km (20 mi) for the long run.

Posted by Mark at 10:34 AM

March 18, 2005

1:15:11/160

Relatively hard workout at the gym today. Matt says you can overtrain for a couple of days, then take it easy to have a big recovery. Just need to find the time to take it easy...

Posted by Mark at 03:51 PM

March 17, 2005

35:00/169

Did 8 km (5 mi) as a two-part run. For the first half I steadily sped up until at the halfway point I was going almost all out, 95% of max. heart rate. My split was 16:12 for the first 4 km. Then I turned around and jogged back at a reasonable pace for the second 4 km.

Could've run faster for the first 4 km, but I didn't really decide how I was going to do this run until I'd gone about 2 km.

It was so warm today I didn't have a shirt. Last week I was still running with a winter hat and gloves.

Posted by Mark at 01:53 PM

March 16, 2005

1:05:01/165

This was a 14.5 km (9 mi) tempo run, starting slowly, building up to and holding it at 93% of max., then gradually coming back down to finish slowly again.

After slowing down from over 90% for a while it felt like running on prostheses made of wood.

Posted by Mark at 03:52 PM

March 15, 2005

43:20/146

Managed to hold myself to 75% of maximum heart rate for about 8 km (5 mi).

I can only hope there's some long term benefit to working at that rate, because it put me in a bad mood. It only felt smooth momentarily a couple of times during the run. Trouble is if I want to increase the mileage significantly, I'm going to have to do more runs at this level of effort.

Posted by Mark at 01:30 PM

March 14, 2005

2:03:34/154

This time's for riding to Pontcharra and back. It includes about a minute on either end where I was getting the last bits of clothing on and getting the from the building to the road and vice versa.

I don't know how far it is. Thought I zeroed everything but the odometer on the bike computer, but then noticed in Pontcharra I'd only thought I'd zeroed everything. The only two measurements I watch while riding are the current speed and current cadence.

Avg. heart rate 154 on the bike feels harder than 154 running. I tried to keep the cadence around 100. Maybe riding slower would improve my endurance and leave my legs feeling stronger.

This is faster than the last time I rode to Pontcharra by almost a minute.

Posted by Mark at 01:52 PM

March 12, 2005

Training times, part III

Another backwards weekend with a rest day on Sunday. Just republished my actual training times.

A bit less than 6 1/2 hours of aerobic exercise this week. Next week is another step back before the push to a approximately 64 km (40 mi) week. Then the taper begins.

Posted by Mark at 02:03 PM

2:23:20/157

No breakfast, only water with a small cup of coffee, and water throughout the run. Oddly I didn't hit any sort of wall. I was indeed starting to tire. Maybe the wall is out there at 20 mi.

Maybe a life of overeating has given me a liver like a force-fed goose. Other people hit the wall. I just reach into the warehouse-sized glycogen stores of my overgrown liver, stores sufficient to keep a family of 5 Kenyans running from here to eternity. Either that or my body's getting better at burning fat.

I covered a distance of about 29.4 km (18.3 mi) at 4:53/km (7:51/mi) with all but about 2 minutes of the work in the 65-85% heart rate zone, averaging just over 80%. I should practice running more slowly. It's hard for me to find a comfortable gait at around 70%. It's not such a big deal yet. If I want to add another 50-100% per week to my distance, it might become a big deal.

When I run at a medium or slow pace, the distance seems to have less impact. I can finish a run like today's feeling tired, but not particularly sore.

The temperature was too low for me to dress comfortably. Below freezing when I started. By the end I was foaming at the knees. By that I mean I had foam on my tights like horses are supposed to get when they run a long way.

Posted by Mark at 12:59 PM

March 11, 2005

Psyching up

Metcheck.com suggests good weather tomorrow, though a bit cold in the morning, with little wind. I'm getting myself psyched up to run without eating beforehand and taking no carbs during the run, just water. Greg McMillan writes:

It's important to remember that feeling tired is what training is about. You receive many benefits in marathon training only after you're tired.

Almost 30 km (18 mi) at a slow, steady pace without any calories except those I can glean from fat should take me to the wall. I'd rather get an idea what that feels like during training than during the marathon.

Posted by Mark at 09:12 PM

56:33/148

Took it easy at the gym today with 41:29 in the 65-85% zone, average at only 76%, and only a few minutes of hard work. Preparing to run long this weekend.

Posted by Mark at 03:12 PM

March 10, 2005

Sports apparel

From DRS, in response to someone wondering what to wear for an upcoming triathlon:

I tend to find that the tri-shorts with the thin cycling pad tends to obscure the details, like the Desoto brand stuff.

But after all, we all know who the boys are and the girls are anyhow, so why bother? I spent the weekend on the beach in Florida, and I am still left puzzled as to why the women wear very small tight suits (puzzled but delighted), and the men wear huge baggy bloomers than come down to mid-calf?

I post this for those of you still wondering why there are so many guys at the gym on Mondays and Fridays compared to those going and getting a real workout at the track, cycling up top a mountain pass, cross-country skiing, pumping iron, or whatever.

Posted by Mark at 10:39 PM

38:41/162

Ended up running at a higher heart rate than I wanted to. Hectic week.

Posted by Mark at 04:42 PM

March 09, 2005

Heart rates, part II

I definitely need to relax the pace, quit doing my workouts over 80% average heart rate. Haven't worked out at less than 80% average since February 28.

I'm going to run tomorrow at 75%, then run this weekend's long run -- about 29 km -- in no less than 2:30.

Posted by Mark at 08:28 PM

Steady-state run

According to Greg McMillan's calculator, I was in the right range this noon for a steady-state run. Greg writes that stamina training like today's run is good for pushing back the lactate threshold.

Trouble is my heart rate was several percentage points too high, at almost 90% average, for a steady-state run. I seem to work too hard over long distances, not enough over short distances.

Posted by Mark at 08:05 PM

1:02:59/175

Okay, tomorrow I'll take it easy. I'm not sure exactly how far this was, somewhere close to 14.5 km (9 mi).

Posted by Mark at 03:17 PM

March 08, 2005

25:35/166

Ran this noon. Too busy to write down my time since then.

Assuming Stu's old measurement of the distance is correct, the pace was pretty quick for me, 3:56/km (6:20/mi) for 6.5 km (just over 4 mi). Today's pace felt only "comfortably hard" today. So I guess I'm well rested after a step back week. Legs felt fine, but I was a little stressed out and wasn't running loose.

I plan to take it easy for tomorrow's 14.5 km (9 mi) run, trying to find the groove rather than doing a tempo run.

Posted by Mark at 08:18 PM

March 07, 2005

58:37/158

The lower average masks the sort of interval-style training we did near the end of today's session at the gym. My muscles are tired, especially the upper body.

Posted by Mark at 01:37 PM

March 05, 2005

Sports drinks with protein?

When I run more than an hour, I drink during the run. It seems likely my injury last summer was due in part to slight dehydration.

I've been using a carbohydrate-only mix to make sports drink rather than trying straight water. You may think it's silly to drink sugar water, that it perhaps prevents you from burning fat, but when you go 10 or more miles, you're still going to burn more calories than you'll take in through your sports drink.

I'm now thinking about perhaps adding protein. PoweringMuscles.com has some articles on endurance running performance that suggest taking 1 gram of protein for every 4 grams of carbohydrate during exercise can protect your muscles during the run, and help repair them faster afterwards. They also cite research suggesting hitting the wall might be as much the body's reaction to muscle damage as to glycogen depletion.

So far I've only had one running experience where I hit the wall. That was in the half marathon at the Wanzenau in Alsace I ran one April having done almost no training during the winter. It happened about a mile before I finished. My time to finish then was about 2 hours. After the race I was thoroughly exhausted. Probably hadn't had enough to drink in addition to being in relatively bad shape for running.

Posted by Mark at 04:31 PM

Training times, part II

As I ran today and will take my rest day tomorrow, I've already updated my actual training times page. Tomorrow marks the end of the 12th week in the 18 week marathon training program. 2/3 of the way there.

Posted by Mark at 03:42 PM

1:28:01/162

Last time I ran only 4 laps around Pontcharra, I suffered. This morning it only cost me an average of 2 heart beats per minute to run the same distance 17:40 faster.

Today's time for 19.5 km (12 mi) works out to a 4:31/km (7:16/mi) average pace, counting three drink stops and one stop to relace my right shoe a bit. Don't read too much into the exact pace. The mileage is an approximation of the kilometrage, which is a sort of careful estimate using my map wheel. I don't really know that exactly how far it is. The last digit I believe is pretty close, however.

Today's run I did almost as a 3/1, or fast finish long run. I couldn't quite get myself to a sprint at the very end. The trouble was when I picked up the pace at the beginning of the fourth lap, I started sweating more. Then my legs started getting cold and tightening up.

Unfortunately this pace was not fast enough according the Greg McMillan's calculator to make it into the steady-state bracket, but too fast to be an endurance run. It would get me to a 3:10 marathon, but I don't think I'll try to do that in April. 20 km is currently a comfortable distance for me. I can do it without feeling too tired. I'm sure that beyond 30 km things will get interesting, though. I don't want to get out there having already burned up my reserve energy and have to run more than 10 km on will power alone.

The temperature when I ran was close to freezing. It was snowing the whole time. Snow was melting immediately on the salty road, but not on the sidewalks. If the temperature had been 7-10 C (45-50 F), conditions would've been ideal for a medium long run like this.

The only trouble I had was the lacing on my right shoe. Maybe I had the laces too tight around my ankle early in the week, or maybe it was my street shoes. Anyway, it felt quite sore where the top of the shoe hugged my ankle, so I loosened that. I wish the people who make running shoes would put wider tongues in their shoes -- why skimp on the tongue in $80-$100 shoes? -- and figure out a more appropriate way to hold the shoe on the ankle than laces.

Posted by Mark at 10:42 AM

March 04, 2005

57:21/161

Fairly good workout at the gym today, keeping my heart rate at 83% of max.

Posted by Mark at 05:31 PM

March 03, 2005

37:35/158

About 8 km (5 mi) with tired legs. The weather was nice for a run, about 5 C (41 F) and partly sunny, but I felt sluggish today.

Posted by Mark at 02:13 PM

March 02, 2005

Calories per mile, part II

Dana observes that 115-120 calories per mile sounds low. Dana's basing his observation on figures from Consumer Reports -- ConsumerReports.org appears to have at least one article on the subject, but I'm too lazy and cheap to sign up right now -- suggesting you burn 20% more calories than that.

I wonder why the guys selling sports gels would want to underestimate the number of calories you're going to burn, given that they stand to gain more when you eat too much. I mean, the disparity should be the other way around.

Dana's probably right, though. Consumer Reports probably does make more of an effort to get their facts straight. CarbBoom.com doesn't specifically state where they got their JavaScript:

These numbers are approximations based on industry standard calculations. Use these numbers as guidelines only. Your mileage may vary.

Posted by Mark at 08:51 PM

About an hour

Forgot my heart monitor and watch at home today. I ran 13 km (8 mi). The time was something on the order of an hour. It was warmer than I expected, so with a hat, windbreaker, and gloves I was a bit overdressed. My legs felt tired. In fact I feel tired all over.

Posted by Mark at 02:35 PM

March 01, 2005

Calories per mile

Somewhere I found a link to the Dead Runners Society mailing list on which people have been discussing energy gels for long runs. Somebody at CarbBoom.com has posted a Marathon Gel & Calorie Calculator to help you determine how many gel packets to eat during the run. They claim someone of my weight should eat 4 or 5 of their gel packets during a marathon, and probably a few before and after. At about $1-2/oz. for flavored maltodextrin, I may take a rain check on that. (You can get bulk maltodextrin at iHerb.com for $0.18/oz. apparently.)

The interesting feature of CarbBoom.com's calculator under the above link is that it estimates the number of calories you'll burn per mile if your weight is between 100 and 240 lbs. and your pace is between 5:20 and 12:00 per mi. So if at my current weight I run a 3:30 marathon, I'll be burning on the order of 3000 calories.

Interestingly I'd only burn about 5% more calories at a blisteringly fast 2:20 marathon pace.

Even more interestingly, the calculator suggests at 2:20 marathon pace I eat one gel at 12 miles, then another at 20, and that's it during the race. However, if I run at a 5:15 marathon pace, I'm supposed to eat one gel at the 5 mile mark, then a gel every 4 miles, totalling 6 packets. I wonder how many you're supposed to eat if you lie on the couch and watch a TV broadcast of other people running a marathon.

Posted by Mark at 08:38 PM | Comments (1)

Hard to tell

As I enter my time into the spreadsheet where I'm still logging that sort of thing, I notice 24:07 is actually not that bad for about 4 miles. Maybe I somehow overestimated the distance with my map wheel. Maybe the novice marathoner's program is getting me in shape.

Posted by Mark at 08:20 PM

24:07/168

For today's short (6 1/2 km, 4 mi) run, realizing I'm probably going to take it easy for the longer ones this week, I gradually picked up the pace, finishing quite fast. I feel better than before I went out. Good way to burn off some nervous agitation.

Posted by Mark at 12:56 PM | Comments (2)

February 28, 2005

59:05/151

Felt weak working out at the gym today. This is a step back week anyway, so I'll do workouts at a relaxed pace and see if I feel stronger later in the week. Maybe I'm fighting off a bug.

Posted by Mark at 01:40 PM

February 27, 2005

52:41/151

Before setting out I intended to ride to Chambéry. As soon as I turned right onto the D590a to Chapareillan, the steady, cold draft from the north had me wanting to stop. My fingers were getting numb by the time I reached Chapareillan. The scarf wrapping my head was coming undone, and my nose was running continuously. Despite my efforts I was averaging probably only 26 kph (16 mph) until I got to the downhill section through Chapareillan.

I ended up turning towards Montmélian at Les Marches and returning home over that route, rather than continuing north. In Montmélian the snowflakes started falling, but the road was still dry and salty, so I rode quickly back down the valley to Pontcharra, probably averaging over 35 kph (almost 22 mph) while the wind was to my back.

The only time I didn't feel uncomfortably cold was coming up the hill to the house. The hill and trees protected me from the wind, and I'd slowed to a crawl for a warmdown up the incline.

Posted by Mark at 02:19 PM

February 26, 2005

2:08:54/160

Hal Higdon writes in Marathon, "Most coaches feel that once you reach 16 miles, you're in long run territory." According to that definition, I ran my first long run today.

Higdon's novice marathoner training program only includes two more long runs before the race itself, an 18-miler (29 km) and a 20-miler (32 km).

The pace today was an even endurance jog, just over 4:57/km (8:02/mi) for 26 km, which includes 6 stops to drink. That's the right speed if I believe Greg McMillan's training calculator. It didn't take me long enough to meet Benji Durden's criteria, but I'll worry about that later this year when it warms up.

An hour before I left, the temperature was -8 C (less than 18 F). It warmed up quite a bit as I ran, but I didn't see any ice melting.

My legs got tired after about 18 km. I was dressed for the temperature but not for the wind. After about 15 km, my tights were soaked. No problem on the gentle downhill, south-facing, sunny half of the laps I ran. But each time I turned around, I had an insistent cold breeze on the sweat covering my uninsulated legs. Hard to run smooth with that happening. Quite painful as well.

Posted by Mark at 04:59 PM | Comments (2)

February 25, 2005

Cold run?, part II

MeteoFrance.com and MetCheck.com concur. The prediction for tomorrow morning at 7 am is -7 C (19 F). It's supposed to be a balmy 3 C (37 F) by 1 pm.

Probably won't wake up early enough to eat breakfast before my 26 km (16 mi) run, so I'll take sports drink rather than water as antifreeze. This one's almost certain to take me more than 2 hours. If I give myself 5:00 per km that would add up to 2:10 for example.

Posted by Mark at 08:41 PM

February 24, 2005

27:03/148

As I'd run an easy 8 km with Stu Tuesday, I jogged only 5 km today, experimenting with breathing through my nose and keeping my mouth shut. It was a bit too cold for that at -3 C (less than 27 F). Will try again when the weather's warmer.

Posted by Mark at 11:18 AM

February 23, 2005

Not slow enough

When I ran 24.5 km in 1:50:19 last Sunday, drinking sports drink each 5 km, I was probably not doing the right thing to get ready for the last 10 km of the Lyon marathon in mid-April, according to Benji Durden quoted in a Runner's World article, Breaking Through the Wall:

Durden advises aiming for long runs that last within 30 minutes of your predicted time for the marathon. For example, if you're training to run the marathon in 3:30, your long runs should last 3 hours. Marathoners shooting for 3:15 would do long runs of 2:45.

...

How many of these long runs should you do? Ideally five or six, but four is the minimum you need to keep from struggling through the last 10-K on race day.

According to my training schedule I only have three longer runs left before April 17: this Sunday's 26 km (16 mi), a 29 km (18 mi) run two weeks later, and a 32 km (20 mi) long run two weeks after that. I guess that last 10 km will not be pleasant.

Posted by Mark at 10:11 PM

55:56/170

After an easy 8 km yesterday, I ran today's 13 km (8 mi) as a tempo run pushing the pace well beyond 10 km race speed during the hardest stretch. I didn't get myself to run quite as hard as with Matt two Wednesdays ago, but did get going fast enough that I could only hold the top speed for about a kilometer before burning through my willpower and maybe my VO2max.

Although the first 5 km was mostly at a heart rate under 80%, and the next 3 km was probably under 85%, I managed to average 87% of my max heart rate over the whole run. No wonder my thighs felt wooden for the warm-down finish.

I count on tempo runs to help me improve oxygen processing capacity, lactate threshold level, and running economy, saving the interval work until summertime when I've quit going to the gym. According to Greg Crowther at the University of Washington:

"Long" intervals and tempo runs are probably our best training tools for maximizing VO2max, lactate threshold, running economy, and overall fitness.

(Source: Training to improve the "Big Three")

Posted by Mark at 01:21 PM | Comments (2)

February 22, 2005

50:03/130

Stu and I ran 8 km (about 5 mi). We left in sunlight and came back under a cold cloud pushed by a piercing breeze. At this speed I concentrate on form, aiming to tap my feet only lightly against the ground, making as little sound as possible while keeping my body loose.

Posted by Mark at 08:58 PM

February 21, 2005

1:16:28/159

A chilly ride up to Tencin and back. My average speed was a pitiful 28.6 kph (17.6 mph). Although my legs felt fine this morning, when I got on the bike I noticed I'd worked out yesterday.

Posted by Mark at 02:13 PM

February 20, 2005

Timing

Oddly my time this morning was at the pace to run a 3:10 marathon, which is roughly what the calculator at McMillanRunning.com tells me to shoot for.

My time it turns out was only 6 minutes slower than Greg McMillan's calculator predicted as my 15-Mile race time. That's encouraging. Except for the fourth lap, I was running comfortably slower than I'd expect to in a 15-Mile race.

That doesn't mean I can run a 3:10 marathon yet, but it does suggest I could do it eventually. Unless I injure myself, I might even be able to do it this year.

Posted by Mark at 04:59 PM

Cross training blues

Metcheck.com, Yahoo Weather, Meteo France all predict snow and cold weather for tomorrow. I'm contemplating putting my bike in the back of the car anyway. Vincent, the guy who leads our gym hour, is on vacation this week.

Posted by Mark at 04:18 PM

1:50:19/162

It was 1 degree C (34 F) when I started the first lap this morning. We had 2-3 cm (1 in) of snow on the ground, so I ran on the road.

It didn't start feeling right until I'd done the first 4.9 km (3 mi) lap. I sped up somewhat for the second lap, then slowed again slightly for the third lap. The fourth lap I ran hard enough to build up lactic acid. Then I started the fifth feeling the same as the first, out of rhythm, stiff legs, though I was also a bit tired. My heart rate seemed to stay higher than necessary on the fifth lap.

I wanted to see if I could recover after having too much lactic acid build up. The answer seems to be somewhere between yes and no.

This 24.5 km (15 mi) run was at a faster pace than 21 km (13 mi) two weeks ago. My guess is that I'll enjoy running long on Sundays more when it starts warming up. That run two Sundays ago was definitely more fun.

Posted by Mark at 11:22 AM

February 18, 2005

1:14:01/159

Another workout at the gym. Felt okay, though jogging back to work my right calf cramped up twice. It may have been the cold outside air.

Posted by Mark at 03:14 PM

February 17, 2005

40:25/157

Was supposed to run 6.5 km (4 mi), but ended up going a smidgeon over 8 km (5 mi) so I wouldn't have to run through the mud with my new shoes, yet could turn around at a clear landmark and stay on the flats.

157 bpm represents just over 80% of my max. If I feel okay at the start, 78% is roughly the pace it feels like I could maintain forever. Maybe I should have as a goal running 8-minute miles for an hour at 78% of my max. (152 bpm).

Posted by Mark at 02:03 PM

February 16, 2005

41:22/173

Well, that course I thought was 11 km must not be.

The pace was fast enough that pushing it would cause my legs muscles to tighten up, but it was maintainable. That's what I understand running physiologists call the lactate threshold. I started cold, so the median heart rate was probably more like 176 bpm.

I felt fine. Didn't try my new shoes. Too much melting snow and mud.

Posted by Mark at 01:18 PM

New shoes

Bought new shoes today, Asics Cumulus VI, after trying four pairs at Training 7.

The reviews at Road Runner Sports are divided, and this is not the shoe I would have picked on my own. Yet the guy I bought them from goes to Vincent's gym hour Mondays and Fridays and has watched me run there. He says I pronate too much in the Nike Pegasus that I have, that I need a shoe less cushioning if I want to run more distance. He told me the shoes I have, which I'd worn too long, would eventually cause me knee pain. In fact, I did experience knee pain when running long.

He looked at my orthopedic inserts and said the big deal is not the plastic around the outside to flatten how my foot hits, but the high ridge on the inside that hurt a lot when I first ran on them. That ridge is supposed to hold my arch and keep my foot from rolling inward. He suggested special lacing, where I use the last two holes to make a loop on each side and snake the laces through the loops. He says my problem will be attenuated if I can get the shoe to hug my heel.

We'll see how it all works out.

The guy selling me the shoes also says he coaches runners. Sounds like a potential coach if we get a club together at work.

Posted by Mark at 11:43 AM | Comments (2)

February 15, 2005

30:31/129

Very easy 5 km recovery run today with Stu. You may wonder if running so slow does any good. The effect is psychological. I finish feeling more upbeat and ready for the rest of the day. I'm not sure a short, slow jog like today's makes any noticeable physical difference at all.

Posted by Mark at 01:47 PM

February 14, 2005

58:32/154

Neither the time nor the average heart rate is correct. My heart monitor was malfunctioning for the first few minutes of the workout at the gym. I restarted it three times, and on the third time did a couple of laps where it registered 0 bpm.

Posted by Mark at 01:37 PM

Overeducation and running

Dana has remarked high proportions of medical doctors, teachers, and other people with advanced degrees running marathons, especially in the population of those running fast enough to qualify for Boston for example. I'm tempted to see a logical connection between educational level and propensity to prepare for marathons. But the connection I see is not that marathoning's a smart thing to do.

Maybe there's some truth to the idea that overeducated people are more likely than average to seek leisure activities involving considerable planning, long-term training, and delayed gratification, e.g. marathon training. I wonder if much of the phenomenon can be explained directly by environmental circumstances that, when extended to any group of people regardless of educational level, would produce more marathoners.

Doctors, teachers, people with lots of schooling may tend to wind up in jobs where they use their heads more than their hands, and use their heads to meet longer-term challenges. First this would leave their bodies ready for exercise rather than needing a rest. Furthermore, people who work with their heads would gravitate to leisure activities where: 1) use of your head gives you an advantage; 2) use of your hands and body doesn't depend as much on force or dexterity you (didn't) develop in your job; 3) the way you use your body hones how you use your head to engage in long-term challenges.

In addition, the overeducated are doubtless more likely to plan their own work, and then to extend this habit to their leisure. Not only do they plan their own work, but they may also be more likely to organize their own work as well, permitting them more easily to set aside time to run. They may even work in an environment that facilitates this (with showers in the building, for example).

Finally the overeducated probably tend to earn more than average, but are maybe not more likely to be independently wealthy. So they run, bike, or even play tennis and golf, but are more susceptible to train for a marathon than for a sailboat race, polo tournament, or the Paris-Dakar.

Marathon running is one sport where you're pitted against yourself more than in competition with other people. It's natural that anyone capable of sticking it out and following the training would find getting ready for a marathon gratifying, because you're almost sure to improve. Maybe that and the trend towards more head work, what I think of as no-collar jobs, explains why the number of people running marathons keeps increasing.

Posted by Mark at 07:56 AM

February 13, 2005

Slower and slower

Looking back at the last three 16 km runs, I've been getting slower and slower. Today's took 1:19:36, but last time it was 1:18:18, and the time before less than 1:16:33.

What's more, I ran slower this time with more heartbeats per minute than last time, 163 vs. 158. Next time I have a step-back week, I'm taking it easy.

Posted by Mark at 04:05 PM

1:19:36/163

Last summer when working on fast 10 km runs, I invariably ran an out-and-back circuit. The hardest part was turning around at the halfway point to face the 3rd quarter.

This morning's step-back long run, 16 km (10 mi), marked the halfway point (in time, not distance) of my training for the Lyon marathon in April. It was raining a bit too hard, with a few granules of snow mixed in with the downpour. Nathalie and I had gone out to eat last night. I got to bed late, then got up too late to eat (and digest) breakfast before heading out at 8 am. My body felt tired before starting the run. So I jogged for a couple of minutes and stretched, but still felt weighted down.

First I started out too fast in an attempt to get my blood flowing. That felt okay for a while, but not great. Then I turned around at Chapareillan into an inhabitually strong headwind, which was full of rain. I got sopping, dripping wet in the first 8 km (5 mi). My top started rubbing and my legs felt like someone had doused them in icewater. Everything tightened up, making it a challenge to run smoothly. When I got back to the house for a drink, I'd already been going more than 39 minutes.

As I reached the 10 km point, the sun broke through the clouds and the rain cleared up, but I was slowing down, losing my concentration. My head was falling forward. My heart rate had dropped to 78% at the bottom of the hill in Chapareillan. I'd run out of gas.

I then tried something Hal Higdon suggests, speeding up to get through the bad patch. A medium-sized tree stands to the left of the road a good way up the first hill from Chapareillan. I aimed to push the pace just to that tree and see how I felt. As I neared the tree, I decided to surge another 100 m or so to the crest. That helped get me going. I managed to pick up the pace enough to come in just under 8-minute miles.

Posted by Mark at 10:50 AM

February 12, 2005

Certifié

Dr. Rantz looked me over this morning and pronounced me apt to run in Lyon. All I have to do now is another 431 km (266 mi) of preparatory training.

Posted by Mark at 11:00 AM

February 11, 2005

1:02:01/162

Ran over to the gym late and then did a fairly hard session, with 31:51 in the 65-85% heart rate zone. This is a step back week, so I added a little more intensity during the week and expect to take it easy for the 16 km (10 mi) run this Sunday morning.

Posted by Mark at 02:30 PM

February 10, 2005

24:32/164

5 km gently with 3 x 200-300 m sprints thrown in to work on keeping smooth form. My body and my mind are not yet in sync on how to run smoothly, though by the third sprint I was able to control my gait at almost top speed. I have lots of work to do to improve my running economy.

Posted by Mark at 03:47 PM | Comments (2)

February 09, 2005

47:09/171

Except at the very beginning, where Matt stopped off to order a kebab for lunch while I stood there with my heart monitor running, we ran about 11 km (7 mi) reasonably well.

171 is almost 88%, which is good considering we did it as a 3/1 run, ending fast. At the very end I got to 99% of my current theoretical max. and must've held it over 95% for a while. It's not easy to run that fast away from the track, but easier to do when you have a partner to keep pushing the pace.

Posted by Mark at 02:46 PM

February 08, 2005

33:53/139

Slow 6 1/4 km jog this noon with Joanne and Stu at the bottom end of my endurance range. It's hard to keep consistent form at that rate, and doubly difficult when you try to hold up a corner of the conversation.

Posted by Mark at 01:10 PM

February 07, 2005

57:02/151

Gentle endurance-level workout at the gym today. Legs feel okay, although I have a little soreness in the back of my left calf but without any stiffness in the shins.

Posted by Mark at 10:35 PM

February 06, 2005

1:48:40/156

20050206.jpg

Nathalie didn't take a very close close-up, but you can see some of the drops of mud. I ran 21 km (13 mi) down on the flats behind La Gache, trying to learn ChiRunning after having read the first 4 1/2 chapters of the book. (And it's clear that I'm not standing right in the photo.)

Although I ran at about the same speed as last week, I felt hugely better. Most of that was due to being healthy yet still running slowly in good weather (1 C (34 F) when starting out, 5 C (41 F) at the end). Yet I think part of it was from the changes even an imperfect adoption of ChiRunning made. In a nutshell, instead of pulling forward with your legs, ChiRunning has you falling and catching yourself with your legs. The faster you want to go, the more you lean forward.

I still have lots of work to do on my form. In particular, my knees bother me a little. I get the impression I was not relaxed enough, and was putting my legs too far forward. Its tough to wait until the very last moment to catch yourself with your leg and to do that smoothly. But my muscles and especially my shins are remarkably refreshed after a run that long. If I didn't know rest is a key part of training, I'd hop on the bike this afternoon.

Posted by Mark at 02:28 PM

February 05, 2005

Relaxing

Getting ready psychologically for the last build-up week long run at a distance I've already done. Tomorrow morning I run roughly a half marathon, 21 km (13 mi). After that I have step-back and taper weeks where I do less, but I also have 5 training runs longer than a half marathon while preparing for Lyon in April. I don't think I've ever run much further than 21 km in one go.

The key for me now seems to involve aiming for ever-smoother form, and not pushing too hard, especially at the start. In a word, relaxing. Funny that the longer you want to be able to go, the more important it gets to relax, rather than to get psyched up.

Posted by Mark at 09:12 AM

February 04, 2005

1:13:31/161

Good workout today. I peaked at 98%, which is 191 bpm, and spent 40:14 in zone, with the vast majority of minutes outside the zone above 85%. Tomorrow is a day off before Sunday's half-marathon distance.

Posted by Mark at 03:43 PM

February 03, 2005

34:02/127

Went for a very slow 6 km jog today. 127 bpm is 65% of the current theoretical max.

Basically spent the entire time trying to pep talk Stu into pushing further and committing to prepare for some sort of event. My hope is to find a few other people who want to train running. If there are 5 of us, we can form a club that gets Work Council subsidies so we can hire a part-time coach.

Posted by Mark at 02:30 PM | Comments (5)

February 02, 2005

49:31/160

The run was supposed to be about 10 km (6 mi) today, but ended up being a little further. I guesstimated an approximately 10 km route while running it. 160 bpm today seems much easier than 163 bpm yesterday.

We're having nice weather down in the valley for early February, several degrees above freezing, blue skies, only a slight breeze. Hope it's like this for the long run this weekend.

Posted by Mark at 02:20 PM

February 01, 2005

23:01/163

Felt much better today, in spite of a little queasiness. I sped up for the second half of the 5 km.

It's warmer out there today, almost freezing, with a covering of new snow. Running atop fresh snow I felt almost as much adhesion as when the ground is dry.

Posted by Mark at 01:16 PM

January 31, 2005

Rest day

Didn't go to the gym today, instead hoping to get well faster by taking the day off.

Interestingly although I didn't eat much of anything solid yesterday, my legs have recovered fine. They felt quite tired towards the end of the run Sunday. Should have no trouble running a short distance tomorrow as long as I dress warmly.

Posted by Mark at 08:25 PM

January 30, 2005

1:45:41/160

Unfortunately, catching the bug from Diane coincided with a night before a Sunday long run. Last night, I made a deal with myself: Don't go out if you're still feverish in the morning.

Since I wasn't feverish, I decided to use this run as a mind game. Clearly I had to run it slow. I also could give up quite often if necesssary, as the 19.6 km (12 mi) would break down to 4x4.9-km (3 mi) jogs around Pontcharra, with the obligation to drink a half-bottle of sports drink after each.

Drinking was tough after the first round. I'd eaten oats with sliced banana for breakfast, also had juice with some coffee in milk, not to mention plenty of water. My hope was to evacuate before running, thus feeling better when setting out. Instead my stomach felt as though I'd swallowed a volleyball. The first two laps I was also working against the need to stop at the toilets. That can prevent you from concentrating on smooth running.

My pace kept me under 85% for about 1:28:07, with an average 82% heart rate. My heart rate was that high for a couple of reasons. First, there's a sort of battle going on in my intestines. Second, the weather wasn't too cooperative. As bundled as I was, I found it difficult to stay warm. The thermometer at Mr Bricolage registered -6 C (21 F), but a steady wind from the north resulted in a regular continental windchill. The sweat on the outside of my second pair of gloves froze. The air in the north facing quarter of the lap chapped my lips.

As a mind game, this run helped me work on running in adverse conditions, even if I need to take an extra rest day this week before going 20 km next Sunday. Hope we get the 6 C high they're predicting in the extended forecast at weather.com.

Posted by Mark at 02:58 PM

January 29, 2005

Draft summer training

Since the Chambéry marathon is slated to happen September 18 this year, an 18-week summer program ending that Sunday would give me over a month of recovery running after Lyon before settling into preparation for Chambéry.

Also, if doing well in Chambéry is my top goal this year, then I'll add speedwork and more volume, but cut the cross-training. I've drafted a plan, at this point a copy of Hal Higdon's marathon training for folks running hills, intervals, and tempo runs. I throw all those into my current training, but not with methodical regularity.

Posted by Mark at 06:12 PM

Shoes

Last summer my old shoes wore thin. When they got so thin the gravel on the trail bruised my forefeet, I broke down and bought a new pair of ASICS Gel something-or-others that fit my feet but not my way of running. In retrospect, those shoes probably contributed to my soreness and eventual injury.

So I went to buy another pair, Nike Air Pegasus, whose name makes me think I need to lose weight. I bought them because they felt like running on couch cushions, though the shoe is for a wider foot than mine. Have run with them ever since.

The foot doctor told me folks in his profession have observed a positive correlation between shoe price and injuries. In other words, the more expensive the shoes, the more they correlate with injury. That doesn't have to be a causality relationship. It could easily be that runners spend more to get something designed to be wrong for their physique and stride. Cheaper shoes perhaps feature less extreme designs. So if somebody like me buys a shoe for overpronators with low arches, it costs more and ends up being unhealthy. (It could also be that high spenders do higher mileage, which also doubtless correlates with higher incidence of injury.)

Anyway, I didn't think that far before buying my last pair of cheaper shoes at Decathlon. And consequently they're not right for me.

So I've come to the conclusion for my next pair of shoes -- which I need to buy in February if I don't want to run a marathon in shoes worn thin or shoes that just came out of the box -- I'll accept to pay more for good counsel. I'm told the place to go in Grenoble is called Training 7.

In any case, I have several pairs of shoes to show them, plus my orthotics, and plenty of testimony.

Posted by Mark at 09:35 AM | Comments (2)

January 28, 2005

1:01:11/154

For this condition physique session, I spent 33:41 in the 65-85% zone, only dropping out the bottom twice as far as I can tell.

154 bpm (79%) average is lower than other days, however. I don't feel great. Took me a long time to warm up and even then I had a hard time pushing to the limit during sprints and laboureurs. My lungs feel a little congested when I breathe hard.

Posted by Mark at 01:37 PM

January 27, 2005

22:39/169?

Should've run slower, but I was trying to get warmed up. It's quite cold today. -8 C at the house at 7:30, now about -3 C with chilly breezes.

I'm convinced the heart rate reading is inaccurate, as the monitor was behaving strangely for the first kilometer or so. One moment it would register 206, the next 00.

Posted by Mark at 01:08 PM | Comments (2)

January 26, 2005

Slow at distance?

Studying Greg McMillan's calculator, I notice discrepancies. If my best time ever for a 10 km run is a hair over 40:00, then equivalent performance for a mile should be 5:33.5. But I've run a mile in 5:29, suggesting I should be able to get trained for a 10 km run down at 39:28. I'm pretty sure the mile I measured was within a meter of being a mile.

I'm not sure what happened. Maybe it wasn't 10 km. Maybe I'm just lazy, and it's easier to force my body for 5:29 than for 40:00. In any case, to break a 3 h marathon time, I'd have to be capable of a mile in under 5:20, or a 10 km in 38:21. Not there yet.

Posted by Mark at 09:51 PM

44:57/166

10 km tempo run this noon. Started and finished at 72% of max. theoretical heart rate, making it to 95% at the peak. Peaked too early however at about 6 1/4 km into the run. Should've accelerated more gradually to reach maximum effort at 7 km.

Today the temperature is quite low, below freezing, and there's a stiff breeze blowing down the valley from up north. One of the reasons for speeding up too early was that even with gloves my hands hurt on the way out.

Posted by Mark at 02:57 PM

January 25, 2005

30:24/142

Phil and I went out for an easy 6 1/4 km. Was supposed to run only 5 km, but we felt like taking a circuit route.

At 73% of my theoretical max. pulse, I supposedly still get the effects of an endurance run, but can also easily carry my end of the conversation. Also feel more refreshed after the run than before I went out.

Posted by Mark at 06:10 PM

January 24, 2005

52:42/168

Since I didn't get much exercise skiing, and since the sun was shining when we got back with Diane from the day care center, I tried to eat quickly so I could hop on the bicycle. Nevertheless I couldn't get ready and away until after 3:30, and it was already below 1 C (34 F), so I rode out through Montmélian and came back.

I should've measured circuits, but instead I felt like getting some fresh air.

My legs were a little tired after all, so once I warmed up I kept the cadence high. The wind was blowing almost as hard here in the valley as up on the mountains. At one point I was working hard downhill to keep moving at 26 km/h, leaning half sideways into the wind. At another point my speedometer registered 43 km/h, but I was spinning almost effortlessly at a cadence of 115 and it seemed there was no breeze at all.

Posted by Mark at 05:42 PM

January 23, 2005

30:01/147

After failing to get exercise with Tim, I decided to try Nathalie's exercise bike. Sunday's are typically cross-training days according to Hal Higdon's program.

I wanted to get out on the bike and investigate loops with my odometer, but it hasn't stopped sprinkling in 3 days now. Cleaning and relubing the chain's no fun.

By investigating loops, I mean looking for circuits to run when going long on the weekends. Next weekend is a 19.5 km (12 mi) run, and the weekend after that's 21 km (13 mi). I've reached the part of the program where I'll be gone well over an hour for each long run until the week before the marathon. It therefore seems important to start running well hydrated each time.

In Marathon Hal Higdon cites research showing an average runner -- in other words somebody smaller and less sweaty than me -- loses a liter of fluid per hour. So if I go out for two hours, I should drink at least 2 liters to stay hydrated. Don't want to have to do that in one sitting.

You may be different, but if I guzzle two liters in a few gulps, I cannot continue running comfortably in my endurance zone. Instead I'd like to be able to drink about 25 cl (approx. 1 cup) at a time. Assuming that means 8 drinks in 2 hours, and that I should run about 24 km/h at a long run pace, I need a circuit of 3 km. That said 6 drinks in between with more on each end and a circuit of 4 km should be okay. What I don't want is a 10 km circuit that forces me to drink a liter at each stop.

Given what I've seen for Lyon and Chambéry marathon organizers seem to put the drink stops each 5 km. For training I'd rather go a bit overboard and stop even more often to drink, especially given Rantz's suggestion last summer that my soreness was most likely due to dehydration.

Posted by Mark at 02:45 PM

January 22, 2005

46:44/177

Last night I reread Hal Higdon's suggestions. He lets you run hard today if you like. After a rest yesterday I felt good.

I warmed up running downhill and across the river into Pontcharra, worried I was running too hard for a "long" run. Then in Pontcharra I started to think that instead of a long run, this one would be a stamina run, 83-92% of max. pulse.

Midway through the run I was feeling too good, thinking about running fast and getting bursts of adrenaline. At one point I seemed not to be breathing deeply enough, and so sprinted for a short distance to burn away the excess and get back into a natural rhythm.

The intense part came when finishing off on the half-mile hill up to the house. I was maintaining 95% pulse, the kind of running where your breathing starts to whistle and your legs start to tighten up and burn.

Good thing I took the day off yesterday. Going out for 7 miles at only 10-15 s/km over my 10 km pace helps focus the mind and perhaps push back the lactate threshold. Now drinking plenty to rehydrate and put the glycogen back.

Posted by Mark at 11:02 AM

January 21, 2005

Day off, part VI

Taking a rest today. Was going to run with Phil.

Couldn't go to the gym. Four of us had a meeting starting at noon that was supposed to last an hour. It lasted 1:20. I almost left anyway. But my right calf was bothering me a bit this morning in the same way it started bothering me last summer. And then when I came downstairs from the meeting Phil said it was too late for him to go.

So I'm at my desk, looking at the fog out the window. Probably too wet to ride this weekend, so the only cross training I can do is walking around. Definitely a step back week.

Posted by Mark at 01:52 PM

January 20, 2005

Signed up

Too late to back out now, I've signed up for the Lyon marathon April 17. If you want to come along, but don't want to run a marathon, they're doing a 10 km run the same morning. All I need now is a medical certificate attesting to the fact that my doctor doesn't think I'll drop dead half way through. That and a place to stay the night before.

Posted by Mark at 09:29 PM

43:18/164

Ran Rochasson again today. This time with Matt and Jerome. We did it as a sort of reverse tempo run, working harder into the hill and taking it easy coming down.

Posted by Mark at 01:23 PM

January 19, 2005

46:31/154

This reflects an endurance run the long way up to and back from Château Rochasson. We're down at 270 m above sea level. Rochasson is at about 440 m. So you climb roughly 170 m, most of it in the last 2 km.

I found myself moving quite slowly uphill to maintain a heart rate only 78-80% of my theoretical max. of 195. At that speed the legs seem to tighten as you go. The blood's not moving as fast. It seems as though instead of spreading across the rest of the body, the load gets stuck in your leg muscles. Had to take small steps when starting downhill until everything got smooth again.

Posted by Mark at 01:31 PM

January 18, 2005

20:39/176

5 km at a fast, mostly steady pace. It's tough to average above 90% heart rate.

My form could've been better. Not only were my thighs and hamstrings stiff from sprinting yesterday, but also the rain along the Isère had started freezing on flat surfaces. I had to take small strides in spots to avoid falling over or overextending a leg.

Posted by Mark at 02:12 PM

January 17, 2005

57:05/146

Took the condition physique session easy today. It could've been tougher, but this week is supposed to be a step back from last.

We did do a little sprinting, though. In the summer I'll add speedwork to my plans in the hope that it improves my form and smoothness.

Posted by Mark at 08:25 PM

January 16, 2005

1:18:18/158

Yesterday I tried to scout out a convenient, flat 4 km circuit in Pontcharra. (Flat roads seem less humpbacked.) On the map I found a slightly lopsided solution that would've given me 3 drink stops during today's 16 km (10 mi) run. I wanted to remain well-hydrated while running before breakfast to work on fat-burning metabolism.

Unfortunately the road I found was blocked off and completely torn apart for sewage work. So I checked the track next to the municipal pool. The track was half muddy rut, half frozen footprints. I decided to run back and forth to Chapareillan twice, loading up on water before setting out.

This morning everything was covered with thick frost. I felt cold for the first 8 km, except for my toes, which are just now warming up. I decided to take this one as a 3/1 run (see Hal Higdon's explanation). A 3/1 run seems to split the difference between Greg McMillan's fast finish long run that has you ending at 10k pace, and a straight, steady-state long run. The way I did it was to run the first 3 quarters in my endurance range, then up the speed roughly to my lactate threshold for the last quarter.

My pulse was only around 87-89% for much of the last quarter. I'm not sure how fast I was running those 4 km. Overall my pace of 4:50/km (7:50/mi) fits in toward the fast end of my long run range according to McMillan's running calculator.

A 78-minute run is too short to deplete glycogen stores. Two weeks from now I'm doing 19 km (approx. 12 mi), which at my long run pace could theoretically burn up the glycogen. I am however trying Greg McMillan's suggestion to eat 4/1 carbs to protein after running to recover effectively. He suggested Slim-Fast, so I tried it. Yuck. I think I'll do Orange Julius instead after drinking the other two cans of Slim-Fast.

Posted by Mark at 10:51 AM

January 15, 2005

Day off, part V

A day of rest, the last being 13 days ago. Looking at appropriate 16 km (10 mi) courses for tomorrow, with opportunities to drink along the way.

Posted by Mark at 06:57 AM

January 14, 2005

1:06:55/157

Strange cross training today. I spent only 37:57 in the 65-85% zone and nevertheless felt worn out. Ludo suggested it felt that way because we ran up to a peak so early in the hour. Eve and Simon seemed to think maybe it was the particular sequence of exercises.

Posted by Mark at 03:30 PM

January 13, 2005

1:28:57/148

Rob and I rode to Tencin and back. The temperature is about 8 C (46 F), and is supposed to go lower later in the week. So I wanted to go even though it rained last night and the roads are wet. Matt and Xavier decided to skip this one. As a result we were able to ride gently.

Rob said my cadence seemed high. If you haven't ridden at a cadence of 95-100 with a cadence meter, it does seem high. Sure makes the hills easier, though, as it feels like you do them with your heart and lungs rather than your thighs.

Posted by Mark at 03:26 PM

28:03/148

Very slow 5 km just to keep the legs warm at an average of 76% of my current theoretical max. pulse. I focused on running quietly and breathing deeply.

Posted by Mark at 03:19 PM

January 12, 2005

Stiff legs

After running Rochasson and then wearing a pair of shoes that box in my toes all afternoon my shins feel tight. That may have been the fastest I've ever run up to Rochasson and back.

Posted by Mark at 08:47 PM

38:25/173

Steady-state stamina run today. I only spent 5:38 in the 65-85% zone, most of it getting up to 85%. The average of 173 bpm represents almost 89% of the current theoretical max. 195 bpm.

I don't know how far I went, but was aiming for 8 km (5 mi). So I ran to Rochasson, trying to keep a relatively high cadence up the hill. On the way down I tried to keep the same cadence while lengthening the stride and avoiding bounces. I'm looking for economy on both sides of the hill.

Posted by Mark at 02:30 PM

January 11, 2005

No time

My heart monitor went dead and reset itself this morning. Happened last night as well. I didn't get around to setting it up again before running, so I don't know how slowly we went.

I ran 6 1/4 km with Phil today, very slowly. Haven't taken a rest day in a while, so this was supposed to be a recovery run.

Posted by Mark at 08:19 PM

January 10, 2005

54:15/154

Took the cross training easier today than last Friday, spending 33:46 in the 65-85% zone. I did manage to get up to 95% (ca. 185 bpm) during a laboureur.

My legs feel tired. If they still feel like this tomorrow, I'll do the Tuesday 5 km as a recovery run.

Posted by Mark at 01:44 PM

January 09, 2005

Winter ride, part II

Compared to December 31 today's riding conditions were great. At 1:30 pm on a sunny afternoon the temperature stood at 10 degrees C (50 F).

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I reckoned a recovery ride wouldn't hurt. I rode for 26 km in 55 minutes, forcing myself to stay at the low end of my 65-85% zone, averaging 133 bpm or about 68%. I only got carried away a couple of times, once on the way to Chapareillan where I managed to get up to 50 km at 70% but only to about 55 at 80% running out of road, and once downhill before Montmélian where my top speed was barely better, only 57.6 km/h (35.6 mph).

Posted by Mark at 07:05 PM

January 08, 2005

1:13:50/156

When I ran past the Monsieur Bricolage store in Pontcharra this morning, the thermometer read -2 degrees C (a little over 28 F). I decided to run today and leave tomorrow to recover, since Tim and Emma both went to school this morning. My hands were cold for the duration of the run. My legs felt tired from the start. Worked a little too hard the last 3 days.

Of the 1:10:05 I spent in the 65-85% range with an average of 80%. I measured the distance on paper as 9 miles, so my speed puts me in my Endurance workout range, determined using Greg McMillan's calculator. That's where I intended to be today. Although it's only 9 miles, it's supposed to be taken as a long run.

I did have trouble drinking. I only stopped to drink once, leaving my water bottle at the house and stopping for about 50 seconds to drink water at a bit less than halfway. I felt I should drink about 1 1/2 cups as fast as possible through the little nipple on the water bottle. That's tough to do while your body would like to continue breathing at a rate commensurable with your heart rate during the run. My heart rate dropped 15% while drinking, but I normally continue breathing for probably a minute after exercising moderately hard, as though my body were replenishing something. So heart rate drops faster than breathing rate.

As I start to take longer runs, I'll need to put the water in a jar or a regular bottle. I'd also like to drink less more often. You can always funnel in another half a cup without perturbing your pace. 1 1/2 cups at once feels like a chore.

Posted by Mark at 11:10 AM

January 07, 2005

57:33/164

For today's cross training, I spent 24:51 in the adjusted 65-85% zone, only falling out the bottom once as far as I know. 164 bpm is now 84% of the maximum of 195.

Posted by Mark at 01:44 PM

January 06, 2005

22:46/172

Something does not add up.

At 88% average heart rate compared to my max., I ran at roughly my expected marathon pace. That should put me just above the top of the endurance zone. In other words, less than 83% if I believe Greg McMillan. Unless my real max. heart rate is 208 and I have the heart of a 12-year-old boy.

Maybe I should go check my time for a hard run at the track one of these days. Theoretically I should be able to extrapolate even from a 5k.

Posted by Mark at 04:21 PM

January 05, 2005

25:25/171

The 6.5 km tempo run planned for today turned into an attempt to prove Matt wrong. I spent only 4:37 in the "65-85%" zone.

When I went to lock in my top tempo, I was at 98-99% of my theoretical maximum heart rate, which was 186 bpm. I worked not to slow down for a little less than a mile along the Isère, picking up the pace to a sprint for the last 100-odd meters. When I looked down at the heart rate monitor at the end of the sprint it said 105%, which would be a heart rate of 195 bpm. So I guess I need to adjust the theoretical maximum on the heart rate monitor.

Matt suggests I work from my lactate threshold, rather than my theoretical maximum, because you can only really measure the maximum in the laboratory. He says a quick way to measure the lactate threshold is to warm up, then run as hard as you can sustain for a half hour, take your average pulse over that time, or perhaps over only the last 20 minutes, and that's your lactate threshold. Then your lowest normal rate would be 84% of your lactate threshold rate. Need to think about that.

Posted by Mark at 01:36 PM

January 04, 2005

29:01/141

For today's jog I started the heart rate monitor in mid stride, so the entire time for the roughly 5 km was in the 65-85% range, with the average at 76%. I did my best both to stay in the 70-80% range and to make this an easy run. The pace makes it more of a recovery jog. That's okay for Tuesdays and Thursdays, though.

Posted by Mark at 02:01 PM

January 03, 2005

Lacking speedwork

Given how intense the cross training gets, I fear speedwork might wear me out more than build me up. I guess the speedwork can wait until after I've finished winter training, which means after a first marathon if I run Lyon.

I could still use Wednesdays for stamina work, as defined by Greg McMillan. If Tuesdays and Thursdays, low mileage days, are about recovery, then it makes sense to consider including tempo runs and steady state runs on Wednesdays.

That seems to fit more or less with my interpretation of Hal Higdon's novice training. He tells the novice to feel free to pick up the pace on Wednesdays. If I also take Sunday runs slowly, as endurance training, I should be able to avoid overdoing it.

Posted by Mark at 08:49 PM

Ups and downs

In 57:16 cross training, with an average pulse of 152 bpm, I was only in the 65-85% zone for 28:05. The maximum heart rate I noticed was 187 after a difficult laboureur. The minimum was 104 during a rest between two exercises. The pulse goes up and down like a yoyo during condition physique cross training with Vincent.

Posted by Mark at 03:12 PM

January 01, 2005

Chomping at the bit

This week included 90 km on two rides, one 45-minute indoor effort, and only 24.5 km running, leaving me feeling undertrained. Yet the more I read about training, the more echoes I hear of what Greg McMillan sums up as:

Don't skimp on the base building. It's much better to include more base (endurance training) and less stamina, speed and sprint training than the other way around.

Maybe that's why I got stuck after running about 10 km in just barely over 40 minutes. Running hard over the same ground each weekday was a rut rather than a training plan.

My current training plan has me chomping at the bit, though. Hope to feel that way still when the weekly long run takes me further than ever before -- my longest single run is a half marathon. Theoretically that long run happens on Sunday, Feb. 20th. It's a 24 km run, almost as much in one outing as I've done all week this week. According to McMillan's site, that run should take me around two hours.

Posted by Mark at 05:40 PM

41:30/142

Diane decided to stretch with me before and after the run. When I come back from a jog or a ride, she always asks me, " Tu as transpiré, Papa ? " (Did you perspire, Dad?) Transpiré comes out cropiré.

Today I jogged over to Chapareillan, which according to Dana and to my map is very close to 5 miles round trip. I kept my pulse down in the aerobic zone for 41:08. Since I started at 72 bpm, the first 22 seconds may have been below 65% of my max.

The temperature when I left was 1 degree C (34 F), and the sky was clear. Metcheck.com suggests we may have rain tomorrow. Also Monday is a hard cross-training day. So I decided to run the scheduled 5 miles today and save tomorrow for stretching and calisthenics.

Posted by Mark at 12:12 PM

December 31, 2004

Winter ride

I've actually done two other rides since December 21, but this was the coldest. I wore all this:

clothes20041231.jpg

Starting clockwise from nearest the washer:

  1. Bike helmet
  2. Hooded windbreaker jacket
  3. Light gray fleece top
  4. Black fleece top
  5. Windbreaker pants
  6. Navy blue sweat pants
  7. Black tights
  8. White t-shirt
  9. Blue ski socks
  10. Black overshoes
  11. Black shorts
  12. Bike shoes
  13. Ski gloves
  14. Liner gloves
  15. Red balaclava

The temperature was -7 Celsius this morning, but up to just under -1 when I left just after lunch. There were a few patches of ice as I rode to Chambery, making awful time. It took me almost 90 minutes to ride 40 km, clothesbound as I was.

I did spend 1:18:27 in my 65-85% heart rate zone, with an average heart rate of 146. It's tougher to maintain an even heart rate on the bike than on foot, however. I had patches where I went out the top of the range, and downhill stretches where I coasted through the bottom.

Posted by Mark at 03:50 PM

December 30, 2004

24:39/147

The roughly 5 km today was mostly at low intensity. I managed to stay in the 65-85% heart rate zone for 20:19. The last 3+ minutes, I had to run uphill, and used that as an anaerobic finish with a short warm down the last 150 m before the house, then walking around and stretching to finish cooling.

I'd run downhill to Pontcharra, not at the track. Tim and I tried the track in mid afternoon. We found it icy in spots, soupy in others. We'll wait for it to dry out before we go again.

Posted by Mark at 05:49 PM

Cross training

Last night, Nathalie didn't feel like riding her exercise bike. I decided to ride it for a while.

My resting heart rate then was lower than yesterday morning, 47 bpm. I rode for 45 minutes, aiming for the low end of my aerobic zone, actually averaging 134 bpm, about 72% of my maximum heart rate. The readout said I burned 586 calories.

Maintaining an aerobic training pulse on Nathalie's exercise bike turns out easier said than done. It would be more straightforward on a trainer where the resistance increases with speed.

Posted by Mark at 05:30 PM

December 29, 2004

38:49

When I went to run this morning, I checked the thermometer on Tim's window. It read 2 degrees Celsius. Clearly some heat escapes through the window, because the snow and ice on the picnic table next to the window had not started melting. I moved the thermometer out onto a dry spot next to the snow and ice, then checked it 5 minutes later. The reading was -1 C (30 F) when I left to run.

I decided to run 6.5 km today on the track in Pontcharra at 130 bpm, the low end of what's called my aerobic zone according to an article at the Sports Coach site. Perhaps the cold played a part. In any case, I had to run slowly indeed to keep my heart rate that low. Whenever I stopped paying attention, the pace drifted up. I would catch myself at 140 bpm and have consciously to slow down. It turns out my average was 134 bpm, but I had to slow down to almost 6 min/km (around 9:30 miles) to hold it there.

It seems I have huge room for improvement in efficiency. I tried making as little sound as possible. The snow still crunched. I tried to keep my head very steady. My heart rate tended up a little. I tried alternately preventing lateral and up and down movement, then running with my upper body as loose as possible. Only giving up seemed to result in a slower heart rate.

Running at this pace led to one weird side effect. After about 7 laps, nearing the 2-mile mark, I started falling asleep. My concentration vanished. I temporarily forgot what lap it was. I felt myself drifting off to sleep while running along, having turned my back to the sun. It was almost pleasant.

In retrospect it seems I might have cooled off too fast. Right when I finally started sweating normally, I turned away from the sun and into a winter breeze. I'll wear a hat next time I plan a slow run in the cold.

Posted by Mark at 03:28 PM | Comments (2)

December 28, 2004

1:44:14

Dana must have been right, that I significantly overestimated the distance between work and Pontcharra. I worked hard today to cover only 51.05 km, averaging only 29.6 km/h (18.4 mi/h).

(Doesn't add up, does it? It's possible the elapsed time doesn't stop when you have to stop at a stoplight, although you don't have to average the 0 km/h minutes into your speed. I stopped at two lights, the second one for the long haul since the police were right there.)

I rode over several hills today that slowed me down to 13 km/h for a minute or more at a time, once for something like a kilometer. That one felt even worse than the one out in front of the house. There's only one hill like that between work and Pontcharra on the Belledonne side, the hill on this side of Goncelin.

From the bridge over the river in Pontcharra uphill to the roundabout near La Rochette, I only averaged 27-28 km/h. Past La Rochette, I had a gradual downhill for several kilometers. It was easy to ride at 34-36 km/h while keeping my cadence high, 90-95 rpm. It was harder to keep that cadence riding at 38-40 km/h. I seem to gravitate to a slower cadence, probably in the low to mid 80s. I slowed down to keep the cadence. I was afraid I'd wear myself out trying to keep up the 38+ km/h pace.

My guess is that keeping the cadence higher ensures the workout is more aerobic. Cycling should build my base for running longer and faster, not cause me muscle or knee problems. Sure enough, my average heart rate was 154 bpm, with 58:27 of the ride falling in my 65-85% zone. Interestingly, when I arrived at the garage door, the heart monitor read only 158 bpm, compared with 173 bmp Sunday, when instead of cycling up the incline I'd run.

From La Rochette, I rode to a roundabout next to Bourgneuf, then took the D204 back west and south. The D204 lies one valley back from the Isère, and brings you back to Montmélian. It's not flat. Instead, it's sprinkled with hills that start when you have no momentum. None of the hills are particularly high, however. My maximum speed came on the downhill to the Autoroute entrance by Montmélian, only 56.5 km/h.

At Montmélian, shivering, I decided to return via Pontcharra rather than Les Marches.

The cyclocomputer works fairly well, although I noticed flakiness near the end of the ride. I'd be going along at about 31 km/h and suddenly the speed would drop off, once down to 18 km/h, another time to 22 km/h. Need to double check the sensor on the rear wheel. Also, when I was on the cold, high stretch, the LCD seemed slow sometimes. Kept functioning, though.

Bothersome points:

It could be worse. A quick weather check indicates -4 degrees C in South Bend, -7 in Indianapolis.

Posted by Mark at 02:38 PM | Comments (2)

December 27, 2004

Opportunity

It turns out the Lyon marathon is scheduled for April 17 next year, which by coincidence marks the race day on my winter training calendar.

If the organizer for the half marathon in St. Marcellin doesn't write back soon, I may have to consider doing Lyon instead.

Seriously, if I hadn't already said to Stu and Joanne that I'd do the half marathon, I'd sign up for Lyon. Having one nearby in April would be a great test. It would also leave me time to train for a second marathon in the same season. If I still want to do a second marathon, that is.

Posted by Mark at 02:23 PM

23:12/156

Ran tomorrow's 5 km today at the track in Pontcharra. I spent 16:13 in the 65-85% heart rate zone, most of the rest above 85%.

I ran 6 x 400 m gently to get my muscles warmed up. Then I ran laps 7, 9, and 11 at high speed, finishing lap 11 at a sprint. My final heart rate for lap 7, likely the fastest lap, was 181. For lap 9, 183. On lap 11 I managed to max. out at 187, one beat per minute above my theoretical maximum.

After laps 7 and 9, my heart rate dropped back into the zone (158 bpm) after 200 m or less at a jog. After lap 11, it took 220 m.

I also tried to focus today on my form, which currenly means lengthening my stride and keeping my head from bobbing up and down. In other words, I'm trying to run smoothly. The basic idea as I understand it is to convert as much energy as possible into forward motion, and as little extra as possible into lateral and vertical motion.

Posted by Mark at 01:46 PM

December 26, 2004

52:59/157

This morning I ran about 7 mi. (11.2 km) going over through Pontcharra and back. It was raining and chilly, about 2 degrees (almost 36 Fahrenheit).

This was the first run for which I used the heart monitor. I spent only 31:19 in the training zone, mainly because my average was just one beat per minute lower than the max. of 158 for the zone. According to their calculations, 158 bmp is supposed to be 85% of my maximum.

It's not clear what that means. I am still a little bit ill, but was not running hard. When I noticed I was going off the top end of the zone, I'd slow down. As Hal Higdon writes, these weekend "long" runs -- they vary from only 6 mi. to as far as 20 mi. -- are supposed to be done significantly slower than your race pace. I think he writes something about 60-70% of your max. heart rate.

The Courir en France web site says 157 is in the middle of my résistance douce range. Apparently it's too high for endurance, but they also have a résistance dure range that goes up to about 95% of my theoretical maximum.

If I get a chance this to go back and see Dr. Rantz, I'll ask him about the heart rate range. It would be nice to be able to run 15 km/hr. with a heart rate like I had today.

Posted by Mark at 11:40 AM

December 25, 2004

Day off, part IV

Today I'm resting. My only exercise was 1 1/2 hrs. raking leaves and picking up branches after lunch. The schedule has me running 7 mi. (about 11 km) tomorrow.

Posted by Mark at 05:01 PM

December 24, 2004

2:04:27:14

This is supposed to be a rest day, but today's weather forcast looks much better than tomorrow's. Also, Gilles was shutting down the NFS server for repairs from 12-2. So I cross trained today, riding to Pontcharra on the Belledonne side of the valley. (70 km round trip)

Maybe I'm not eating enough fruit this week. I now have two water bottles and drank plenty along the way, but had a couple of near cramps in my left calf, and one uncomfortable cramp in my chin right near the end.

The SPD pedals are a little bit looser than Look pedals, but still fine. I don't think the tune up the other day did much for my derailleurs, however.

Posted by Mark at 02:18 PM | Comments (3)

December 23, 2004

54:48:27

According to Hal Higdon's plan, I was supposed to run 5 km again today. But Jerome called at 11:30 and wanted to run, so we jogged together.

Jerome goes out once a week, runs out around a nearby lake. When we got to what I reckon is the 5 km mark, we'd been jogging for almost 27 minutes, so this probably represents somewhere on the order of 10 km.

Posted by Mark at 01:25 PM

December 22, 2004

19:37:45

Today is supposed to be a hard day, according to Hal Higdon's novice training program. Ran as fast as possible under the circumstances. The circumstances involved choking on phlegm from time to time.

Posted by Mark at 02:08 PM

December 21, 2004

22:51:70

Another short run, 5 km. Started very gently, as the temperature is only slightly above freezing. Ran harder in the middle, and finished more slowly. My aim is to get my stride long and smooth.

Posted by Mark at 01:06 PM

December 20, 2004

Day off, part III

Taking another day off running today. Good thing, because my nose is running and I'm coughing. I do feel much better than yesterday.

Posted by Mark at 06:13 PM

December 19, 2004

48:31:51

The rain is still falling here, likely turning to snow at higher altitudes. There was slush on my car when I drove downhill to run this morning.

I woke up with a low-grade fever, sore throat, and stuffy nose. Had a hat, socks, and fleece jacket waiting for the sun to rise. Tim and Emma got up before 7. They didn't think it was particularly cold, so it seems to have been me. The thought occurred that maybe I shouldn't go, but I only had to run 10 km today according to the plan. The plan also says tomorrow is a rest day.

At 8:15, it was light enough to go. I'd mapped out a course on access roads and foot trails following the river, leaving from the Super U parking lot. A good map and a piece of string helped me find a roundabout precisely 5 km away from the starting point. I hadn't eaten breakfast, but had a couple glasses of water and a glass of juice.

I ran with several layers, hat, gloves, ski socks instead of running socks. Nothing felt right, so I plodded along. Hal Higdon suggests taking the longer runs at a pace significantly slower than you intend to run in a race, 45-90 seconds per mile. Somewhere in his book about marathon running, he may also suggest not to run much when you're sick. (I assume 10 km counts as not much, even though it's considered the first long run in his novice marathon training program.)

I must be sick now, because even after eating walking up stairs is a chore. Good thing I didn't have a 20-miler scheduled for today.

Posted by Mark at 10:39 AM | Comments (1)

December 18, 2004

Fall ride, part X

SPD pedals make it easy to release your feet. With cleats like that, there's no reason not to stop at red lights, for example.

I rode to Chapareillan to check out the tune up. My suspicions about the indexed front derailleur were confirmed; the chain grinds against the derailleur in almost the same way it did before. Maybe I can learn to fix that by reading Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance and playing around with it myself.

The brakes feel snug now. I practiced my form, revving high and trying never to bounce in the saddle. Once again, the mountains looked splendid, this time with late afternoon sun on the Belledonne side. Snow causes the shadows to stand out as though the landscape were done in oil paint. The most postcard-ready view came half a mile north of Barraux where the shadow of the fort stood out against the snow-covered range. You could even see the beams in the bell tower. I'd left our camera at home, though.

Posted by Mark at 05:23 PM | Comments (2)

December 17, 2004

21:37:85

Slower than yesterday. I only ran at pace for the middle of today's 5 km, continuing the gradual buildup that should go on for months.

Posted by Mark at 01:19 PM | Comments (2)

December 16, 2004

20:34:82

5 km a little faster than yesterday. Added 5 strides up to about 400 m pace, and only really slowed down on the last quarter.

Was supposed to rest today, so will trade this against the scheduled run Saturday.

Posted by Mark at 11:49 AM

December 15, 2004

26:44:45

Ran a very slow 5 km today. At that speed, I can give a speech without a microphone.

Stu came back Monday from business in California. I've been eating things like fruit and bread, riding in Matt's wake, and Stu's been eating three meals a day in restaurants on an expense account, running only on the treadmill of the hotel. Our conclusion is hardly scientific, but we think it's healthier to stay here.

Posted by Mark at 02:03 PM

December 14, 2004

Saint Marcellin

Stu, Joanne, and I are planning for the Semi-Marathon de Saint Marcellin in April, if they do it again this year on the same date. I wanted something between now and a marathon next September.

I've adapted Hal Higdon's novice marathon training program to fit what I think will be more than enough for a half marathon, giving me an opportunity to build up my base.

My winter training in this case includes the condition physique cross training I've been doing.

I cannot quickly find a way to combine the cross training, biking, and all the running necessary to build the marathon base. It may be too cold for biking soon, though. Matt and I went out at lunchtime today. Although the sun was out, anywhere we found a shadow, the grass was covered with frost. I wore ski gloves. They led to trouble shifting sometimes.

Since it's only a half marathon in April, perhaps I can slip bike rides in here and there. The tougher exercise will be working out a summer schedule where I can nevertheless ride while building up to the marathon itself. The condition physique cross training ends in June, though, and Hal Higdon's novice marathon training program -- we're all novices for our first marathon -- only has you run four days per week.

Posted by Mark at 10:19 PM

December 13, 2004

Condition physique

Since September, I've been going Monday and Friday lunchtimes to a condition physique hour, where the facilitator, Vincent, takes us through a tough workout that hits both the muscles and the cardiovascular system.

After the ride yesterday, I expected to be in bad shape for today. I was fine, however, just holding back a little during the toughest leg exercises.

I'm aiming at taking Thursday off this week, so may try to squeeze in one more ride tomorrow before taking my bike the shop for the free tune up.

Posted by Mark at 05:59 PM

December 12, 2004

Fall ride, part IX

This afternoon I rode for 3:07:04:48, adding the trip down to Tencin then across to La Terrasse to what I did last Sunday. That's roughly 30 km more riding.

Yahoo weather says the high today in Chambery was 9 degrees Celsius, but I never saw our thermometer go above 4, and when I set out it was about 3 (almost 38 F). When I got back, it was about 2 (almost 36 F). I need warmer clothing at those temperatures. In the sunlight, that's about as cool as it can get without becoming uncomfortable. When the mist comes out, or you go in a direction where there's a mountain between you and the sun, fingers and toes start to hurt. Also, all the sweat underneath my windbreaker outfit starts turning to icewater. In terms of weather conditions, the roughest 15 km were in the valley over to La Rochette and back from Pontcharra. Shadowy and damp.

After 2 hours, my waterbottle was dry. Now I know why they put an extra set of waterbottle studs on the downtube. Surely In the summer I'll need an extra bottle at least.

My aim today was to deplete the glycogen in my muscles. Don't think I got all the way there. I'm exhausted, but don't feel like I hit a wall. My energy was fading fast after La Terrasse, however, so perhaps I was getting close. The last hill in La Buissiere was rough. Even in my lowest gear, I had to get out of the saddle several times.

Posted by Mark at 06:13 PM | Comments (2)

December 11, 2004

Day off, part II

I worked hard Thursday and Friday, Thursday chasing Matt and Xavier, Friday finishing at our gym session with my calves almost cramping, my arms so tired I couldn't lift them, and pain in my back muscles from straining on the exercises we did for the arms. I'd also gone anaerobic, keeping the rhythm steady during the main stream of the workout, and going for broke during the sprints and laboureurs. (For the laboureur, you work with a partner of your size and strength. One plays the ox and the other the driver. The ox drags the driver across the gym; the driver works to keep ox from moving. If you do it right, the laboureur is the equivalent of sprinting with someone on your back.)

Today has to be a day off anyway. Nathalie had things to do this morning and has lace class this afternoon. I'll be babysitting. Maybe tomorrow I can go out for one more ride before taking my bike in for the free 3-month tune up. If it's warm enough, I'd like to extend what I did last Sunday. I ought to go out for long runs, but cycling's too much fun.

Posted by Mark at 12:43 PM

December 09, 2004

Fall ride, part VIII

Today, I rode out with Matt and Xavier at lunchtime. We were originally aiming for Pontcharra, which is about 35 km from work, but Xavier had us turn around at Tencin. We were riding quite hard. Unlike me, Xavier seems best when he varies his speed a lot. Going up the valley, we were just slogging it out. Matt's a tough act to follow, especially on long hills. On the flats, I can roughly follow those guys, however, since I run regularly.

At Tencin, we came over to the Chartreuse side of the valley, which is at La Terrasse. There we decided to go uphill on the road to St. Hilaire. 15 minutes into the climb, Matt and Xavier decided to take a small road back down. I couldn't follow them. I just don't feel comfortable riding downhill yet. In the car, it would probably feel slow, but on the bike it feels too fast. I have the same problem downhill skiing.

Coming through St. Ismier, I didn't have much left and fell behind. Matt had sprinted most of the way uphill in Bernin, and in trying to follow him, I realized my leg muscles are not sufficiently developed for hill climbing with guys who are good at it. Need to work on that.

Posted by Mark at 09:50 PM

December 08, 2004

41:11:34

I ran gently up to Rochasson and down at lunch today. It only took about 1 minute longer than running hard. In any case, I didn't get any cramps or have any problems like that this week.

Posted by Mark at 09:05 PM | Comments (2)

December 07, 2004

58:35:38

Cross training has not improved my pace. I've run less, and come to runs often as I did today, feeling good, but feeling tired. 58 1/2 minutes for 14 km, about 14 1/3 kph or not quite 9 mph is a kind of in-between speed, too fast to give up and consider myself a jogger rather than a runner, too slow to run a respectable distance event.

Posted by Mark at 09:02 PM

December 06, 2004

Workout level

Xavier explained to me today that it would take about twice as long on the bike to get to the same level of workout as running 90 minutes. So I guess I'll need to go back to running on Sundays. Perhaps I can take a day during the week off, and ride Saturdays instead.

Posted by Mark at 08:18 PM

December 05, 2004

Fall ride, part VII

I rode for more than 2 hours this morning, leaving at about 9:55, and getting back at about 12:05. First I rode to Chambery, then rode back through Les Marches and out to Montmelian. After coming around to Pontcharra from Montmelian, I headed uphill to La Rochette. I'd like to know how fast I managed to ride. Maybe I should ask for a cyclocomputer for Christmas.

My fingers and toes felt cold perhaps 1/3 of the time. The humid air chilled me on the downhills.

For runs and rides longer than an hour, Matt suggested drinking one of those glucose and vitamin mixtures instead of water. I don't generally take anything with me when going for only an hour. I don't know how much difference drinking sugar water with vitamins makes. I didn't have any problems with cramps. Maybe I didn't work hard enough to have cramps.

With the glucose drink I feel much less hungry than I normally would after a long ride. Perhaps it keeps your blood sugar at a normal level despite the effort.

Posted by Mark at 08:28 PM | Comments (2)

Fall ride, part VI

The temperature this morning is about 6 degrees Celsius. According to Yahoo Weather, it won't get much warmer today. That's not warm, but it's warm enough to ride.

I've not gone yet, but am dressed for it, and have pumped up my tires. Unless I get too chilled, I'll go for a long ride to replace a long run this morning. (Nathalie decided we should go to the Christmas market in Chambery this afternoon instead of the skating rink this morning.)

Hal Higdon wrote somewhere that running for 90-120 minutes gets you to the point where your muscles start to conserve glycogen, so it's an important training point. The time may be 120-180 minutes on a bike, I don't know. I won't be out there three hours. Then again, I'm not training for a race, just getting some exercise.

Posted by Mark at 09:43 AM

December 02, 2004

Shoes, part II

Felt much better today. The ankle bruise seems to have gone, and although I have a stuffy nose, my body felt good at the end of a brisk 14k.

Dad suggested by email maybe my body's trying to tell me I'm overworking things. But I figured:

The root cause of my shoe problem seems to have been running on a road, as opposed to a trail. The road I was running on is humped in the middle, presumably to allow rain to run off. If you cannot run right down the middle, you're running on a slope. I believe the solution to that problem is to go run on a trail.

A bike trail might be a good starting point if the other trails are too bumpy.

Posted by Mark at 04:35 PM

December 01, 2004

Shoes

The front of my left ankle's sore from last Sunday, running down the side of the road, and having the laces twist the shoe tongue taut. My regular shoes, a pair of Nike Air Pegasus, have great cushioning, but I realize now are too wide, and the problem's getting worse as I wear them to the gym on Mondays and Fridays.

I bought a pair of narrower Decathlon-brand shoes today. They cushion less, but fit better. On a gentle 10k at lunchtime I did my best to get them adjusted. It's almost impossible to get the laces right on a sore foot. I must've stopped 5 or 6 times.

Posted by Mark at 09:37 PM

November 30, 2004

40:02:28

At Rochasson around 23:26, I realized the whole run could be done in less than 40 minutes. So I let myself go down hill.

It feels out of control. Maybe I haven't done enough skiing.

Posted by Mark at 02:27 PM

November 28, 2004

1:16:32:91

I'm still deciding what I aim to run next year, and was weak yesterday, so I only ran back and forth to Chapareillan twice today, without extending the run at all.

My pace, less than 13.5 km (8 mi) per hour, is too slow for such short runs, but wouldn't be so bad if I could keep it up for 42.195 km (26 mi, 385 yds). At this pace I only feel a little out of breath at the hill crests between here and Chapareillan. The time includes refuelling at the halfway point, which takes about 45 seconds. I figure if I run for more than an hour I ought to drink something along the way. In a marathon setting, I'd probably be able to continue to make forward progress, even if only walking, while drinking something. At home I don't want to take my water bottle with me to Chapareillan.

This week I ran in running clothes, rather than sweats. When I started, the temperature was 4 degrees Celsius (almost 40 Fahrenheit). That's cold enough to feel chilled until I've run for 15 minutes, almost all the way to the point where I turn around in Chapareillan. The entire first quarter took about 18 minutes. The thing is, you finish in that direction on a long, fairly steep downhill drop. It's easy to get going quickly while hardly breathing fast.

Just before the halfway point, I stared having shoe troubles again, this time with my regular shoes. The front of my left foot hurt, as though the shoe were too tight. I tried loosening my laces. That helped a little for a while, but didn't completely resolve the problem.

Then I tried something Dana suggested during his visit, running down the center of the road. My shoe problems disappeared. Only problem was that running down the middle of the road doesn't work very well when there's much traffic. It breaks... well, I won't say my concentration, because I'm not really concentrating. I guess I could say it breaks my flow.

Maybe I should run along the Isere. I don't like the Isere route up here by Pontcharra, however. The path is too lumpy. Another possibility is running on bike paths. There's one in Pontcharra that I've never tried on a bicycle -- too short -- but perhaps for running it would be okay. The advantage with Chapareillan is that it's close by, so I don't have to run more than about 35-40 minutes without taking a drink.

Posted by Mark at 02:51 PM

Goals

Part of training is getting your goals set properly. Hal Higdon's intermediate marathon training schedules have you prepare for 18 weeks leading up to the race, or about 4 months.

I found one April run nearby, but it looks like something do after a marathon starts seeming too much of a sprint on the flats. The Balcon de Belledonne 65 km run takes you up and over the Belledonne range. Other runs around that time appear to be short ones, 15 km or less, so maybe I'll just do more long range planning for the Marathon de Savoie in September (unless there's a Grenoble marathon this year).

Posted by Mark at 10:05 AM

November 27, 2004

Fall ride, part V

This morning I went for a ride. The thermometer said 6 degrees Celsius (43 Fahrenheit) when I left. Although the northern half of France was apparently covered with low gray clouds today, we had sunny, if hazy, weather.

I've recovered almost completely now from whatever it was that disturbed my digestive system, but I had no energy and my heart felt weak. On the hills, I dialed back into the low gears and took it easy.

I keep thinking we must be getting down to the last good riding weather before the winter, but 6 degrees isn't too bad if I wear windbreaker tops and bottoms. There were lots of cyclists on the roads.

Posted by Mark at 05:46 PM

November 24, 2004

5:46, part II

The nurse was right. You can run the day after giving blood.

I was out for a gentle run, so I didn't have my watch. Planned only a 10k, but ran 14k as a tempo run. No adverse effects as far as I can tell.

Posted by Mark at 03:00 PM

November 21, 2004

Out of order

As mentioned on my day off yesterday, today was time for a longer run. My aim is to build up gently to marathon distance taking longer runs on Sundays. I want to see what problems I'll have to resolve as the mileage goes up.

Today I set out too late, at 10:45, to take a long run before lunch, so I only ran over to Chapareillan and back twice. That's less than a half marathon. I realized at 10 that I still hadn't changed the oil in Nath's car and so did that before going. Then in order not to sweat through the shoes I use all week, I wore a different pair.

Shoes are definitely one of the things that can go wrong. The ones I wore boxed my toes in. They're the right size for my feet. When I put the inserts in, however, they're too small. The first round trip to Chapareillan didn't turn up any trouble. The second trip though I started having a blister under the left big toe on the way out. Also, on the downhills, my right foot was getting squeezed painfully. My feet were so out of order even made my knees began to hurt.

Next time I'll wear my regular shoes, despite perhaps not managing to wash them before Monday.

I saw lots of cyclists. The temperature was about 8 degrees Celsius (over 46 Fahrenheit), the sun was out, and there was almost no wind, just occasional gentle gusts from the north. It had me thinking about going out for a ride after lunch, but my legs are sore. Saturday alone wasn't enough rest. My odd training run on Thursday followed by a particularly hard workout at the gym Friday meant that my legs have not completely recovered. I want to avoid injury above all.

Posted by Mark at 02:18 PM

November 20, 2004

Day off

Thursday, November 11 was the last day I didn't run or ride. So I'm taking today off to rest my muscles. Yesterday my calves were cramping up at the end of the workout. Tomorrow I'll try a longer run than usual.

Posted by Mark at 02:30 PM

November 18, 2004

Muscle knots

Perhaps it's the cold weather, but I've had a couple of problems in the last two weeks with muscles tightening up. Last week it was the hamstring behind the knee.

This morning it was one of those muscles at the top of the back. It seized up when I was getting dressed. I felt sure it would hurt when I was running. As it turns out, my back felt better all through the run than it did for any part of the rest of the day.

Would endorphins explain that? Or is it just a case of warmer muscles working more smoothly?

Posted by Mark at 09:17 PM

Not bouncing

After wimping out halfway through a set of intervals with Matt yesterday, I decided to try is suggestion of learning to run more efficiently, starting today.

Matt's idea is that if you can keep yourself from bouncing so much up and down, you can focus more of your energy into forward movement. This you do partly by lengthening your stride.

So you try to keep your head level and to pull your legs apart more. I did that the first half of a 14 km run, but didn't try to run fast yet (30:30 split). Running like that makes my thighs work harder than they usually do.

On the way back I tried a few minutes alternation between lifting my knees up and pulling my heels up on each stride. I'm hoping to build strength. I also ran about 1.5 km again trying to keep my head and upper body from moving vertically, and did 5 quick intervals to break it up.

I'd like to build up to a marathon next season. I ought to be able to do that without injury.

Posted by Mark at 09:13 PM

November 16, 2004

Uphill, downhill

Running up to Corenc from work and back took me a total of 45 minutes at a determined, but not particularly hard pace. On the way down I tried letting myself go, lengthening my stride as Matt suggested.

The downhill part felt strange. I find it difficult to release the brakes completely. Even my toes remain tense.

Posted by Mark at 08:14 PM

November 14, 2004

Fall ride, part IV

Yesterday was colder than today. When I left for Chambéry after lunch, it was about 7 degrees Celsius (almost 45 Fahrenheit).

Not only was the temperature slightly higher today, but also I was better prepared. Although I couldn't fit a hat underneath my helmet, I wore a windbreaker with a hood. I also wore a pair of very thin gloves under my normal cycling gloves. Finally, I wore windbreaker bottoms, too.

The difficulty today was the wind. Actually, I was lucky to have gone yesterday morning. The wind picked up later in the day and has been blowing down the valley from the north since then. Getting to Chambéry was hard work.

Posted by Mark at 04:48 PM | Comments (2)

November 13, 2004

Fall ride, part III

Today I rode the circuit up through Les Marches, Montmélian, and back through Laissud and Pontcharra. That circuit takes me on the order of an hour, riding swiftly but not to exhaustion.

This qualified as a cold weather ride. The temperature when I got back at 11:30 am was 5 degrees Celsius (41 Fahrenheit). I went in the morning rather than the afternoon because it looked like it might get a little cooler and snow. Low, gray clouds covered up the sky and the wind blew chill and humid out of the north.

My trouble spots were fingers and toes. I rode for quite a while with clenched fists on the top of the handlebars. My gloves are rated to -5 Celsius, but maybe that's a post-windchilll rating.

I could also consider wearing a hat underneath my helmet. Having such a light helmet with big vents in summer's a good thing. In the winter it just turns all the sweat into icewater.

Posted by Mark at 02:36 PM

November 12, 2004

No pain, part II

My leg is almost back to normal after hurting it Monday. We had a good workout at the gym. Lots of people were on vacation today, so we had extra space and could work out with the medicine balls for the first time. Oof.

Posted by Mark at 03:20 PM

November 10, 2004

Intervals, part III

It's funny how 15 minutes of exercise can knock you for a loop. I was slightly spaced out all afternoon after running intervals.

Matt later said maybe I shouldn't be working that hard this time of year when it's starting to get cold, but that once per week is probably not dangerous. I guess he used to do it a couple of times a week and ended up overtraining.

Posted by Mark at 09:01 PM

Intervals, part II

A few minutes ago, I ran the intervals training as Matt suggested yesterday. One of Matt's specific suggestions was to run 15 intervals, 40 seconds as hard as possible, then 20 seconds rest for each.

It's easier said than done.

40 seconds starts seeming like a long time after a few repetitions. And I start having trouble focusing enough to read the seconds on my watch. Near the end I cannot recover much of anything in 20 seconds. Right now, I feel completely wiped out.

Posted by Mark at 01:38 PM

November 09, 2004

Intervals

Matt and I went running today, although I'd hurt my leg yesterday at the gym. Feels like a hamstring problem, but is getting better today so I'm not very worried.

Matt suggests that I could get a lot more good out of my time by running intervals and then some longer runs once a week. He even says I might be able to fix my weight problem through serious interval work, because a body recovering from serious lactic acid buildup has high metabolism.

Posted by Mark at 06:11 PM

November 07, 2004

Fall ride, part II

This morning around 11 the sun came out and it must've warmed up to 13-14 degrees Celsius. At the time, I was cleaning up in the yard after having trimmed shrubs and couldn't get away to ride before lunch.

So I went out right after lunch. The wind started picking up soon after the sun appeared, wind blowing out of the north. On the flat, open stretches headed north to the bridge over the autoroute before Montmélian, I slowed to a crawl. The dry corn tassles bent back and flapped. Yesterday in the opposite direction at the same place, I was rolling in top gear at a quick pace.

I'd tried to get Nathalie to ride to La Rochette with me. She declined. I told here it would be more interesting than her exercise bike. She told me I'd ride too fast for her. I promised to ride slowly. She said the real problem was that on her exercise bike, she can always stop after a maximum of 30 minutes. She expected the ride with me to take longer than that.

Colette asked me whether I look at the landscape. I replied that yesterday I saw two turkeys running after a third turkey who'd found what looked like a green apple. I further remarked that today all the turkeys appeared to be hiding from the wind.

Borges once wrote that had an imposter wrote the Koran, he'd have filled it with camels for local color. When you live in the mountains and ride through vineyards every time you go out, you remember the turkeys competing for an apple, more than the peaks and grapes. That said, the country around here is lovely.

belledonne20040426.jpg

Posted by Mark at 04:46 PM | Comments (2)

November 06, 2004

Fall ride

Even today weather was still nice enough to go for a bike ride in the morning. I rode over to Chambéry, back through Myans, Les Marches, Montmélian, and Pontcharra on the way home.

Wind was out of the north, which made it fun riding home. Zoom.

When I reach Chambéry, I come out near the center of town. In fact, I go right by the Japanese restaurant where Nathalie and I ate about a week ago.

Posted by Mark at 10:17 PM

November 05, 2004

Crossroads

Dana summed it up the other day. I can run fast enough far enough that I've gone beyond what most people can do. But my performance is laughable compared to people who take running seriously.

I weight about 85 kg now. For a serious distance runner my height, I'm about 10.5 kg overweight. In the abstract, that's not so hard to change. Except that I've liked to eat too much for as long as I can remember, and I do not want to start a temporary diet. I'd have to change my lifestyle.

I'd also have to change my lifestyle to run enough to get good at it. An hour a day is probably not enough to move from 14-15 km/hr up to 17-18 km/hr. 17 km/hr translates to a 2:30 marathon, roughly.

If I want to make the change, I probably ought to do it while I'm still in my 30s. It's not going to get any easier.

Posted by Mark at 09:10 PM

No pain

In the last week, I dropped one day, Tuesday, but ran at least 5 out of the last 7.

My speed's not great. The best I did for a 10 km run was around 41:30. And I never ran further than 10 km.

However, the pain in my shins has not come back. The orthotics seem to work well. Should be able to increase my mileage now, or as soon as I stop cycling.

Posted by Mark at 09:00 PM

October 31, 2004

20.32 km

Rode Nath's exercise bike this afternoon, after having ridden to Chambéry this morning. Nath usually rides for 30 minutes, so I tried riding 30 minutes as well.

The readout told me I'd ridden 20.32 km, and burned 427 calories. That's a lot fewer calories than I burn when running hard for half an hour. No wonder running's harder work than cycling.

Posted by Mark at 08:16 PM

October 30, 2004

Cold ride

This morning I left at a few minutes after 9 am. The temperature was about 45 degrees Fahrenheit, though the day was clear. I rode until a few minutes before 11 am. When I returned, the temperature had warmed up to 50 degrees.

With shoe covers, good gloves, several layers, and a windbreaker, I felt okay in the sun. A few kilometers of road on the Belledonne side of the valley lay in shadow at that hour, however. Riding through the 45-to-50-degree shade at high speed after having broken a good sweat makes chilly work, even if you have plenty of clothing.

Posted by Mark at 09:05 PM

October 28, 2004

Mini triathlon

Today's mini triathlon started with full-extension, olympic hedge clipping along the entire length of the yard. Unfortunately, my time wasn't very good. It took a total of four hours to trim the top and sides on the south edge of our yard. The inherent difficulty in the hedge clipping event lies in overcoming stiffness in the muscles at the top of your back. Those get strained as you lean forward and reach out at shoulder height to snip twigs almost beyond your grasp.

The second and third legs were stunted versions of the traditional bike race and run. I took off on the bicycle at 3:30 pm but only rode over to Les Marches. Although I didn't get rained on, puddles had gathered everywhere the road wasn't almost perfectly flat. It had drizzled this morning and some of the afternoon. Had to wipe the bike down completely, and to clean, oil, and grease the chain.

After deciding not to ride only 20 km, it made sense to go somewhere on foot. I thought Dana was going to want to run. We'd had a big lunch. But I guess he's taking it easy today. I only ran as far as Chapareillan. Dana says the edge of Chapareillan and back is about 8 1/2 km.

Posted by Mark at 06:37 PM

October 27, 2004

La Chapelle-Blanche

This afternoon I climbed up the hills on my bike to a little town called La Chapelle-Blanche, which is half way between Pontcharra and La Rochette. Coming from Montmélian, you have a view on the way up that extends all the way to Chambéry at one point.

On the other side, you descend quickly to the lake by La Rochette. Quickly enough that I feel nervous, despite the road being relatively straight until the last right turn.

I found the short, low-traffic road from Les Marches to Montmélian as well. You end up near the station in Montmélian and have a relatively steep decline to the roundabout leading towards the autoroute.

Posted by Mark at 06:48 PM

October 23, 2004

Indian summer

Nathalie's chiropracter says we're having an Indian summer. So the transition to winter will come abruptly. Although the leaves are turning the tomatoes still grow.

At 8:30 this morning, I could still ride with only shorts, no leggings.

Tim ran 2.2 km in the Courseton over 15 minutes. Almost overheating in his sweatpants.

Posted by Mark at 11:20 AM

October 21, 2004

Another 10k

I forgot my watch this noon. However slow I was, at least my feet and legs are fully used to the orthotics. And it was so warm I almost took my shirt off.

Posted by Mark at 10:11 PM

October 19, 2004

59:32:64

For 14k. Yes, I've slowed down. Part of this is no doubt psychological.

Part of it may be that the effect I hoped for in going to do boot-camp aerobics Monday and Friday is not actually happening. Maybe there's nothing to increase your running speed like more running.

Posted by Mark at 01:59 PM

October 16, 2004

Rain, part II

It was supposed to rain this afternoon. Instead we had a few breaks in the clouds from about 1 pm until about 5 pm.

Tim and Emma were at a birthday party, and Nathalie took Diane on an errand. I tried to paint the ceiling in the bathroom downstairs, but realized I was going to have to strip all the old paint off or it wouldn't work. By that time I'd already painted part of the ceiling, so I decided to go out for a ride before the rain came back again.

I did a short circuit, something on the order of 25-30 km, out through Pontcharra, around to Montmélian, back up to Les Marches and through Chapareillan to Barraux. Most of that is flat, or nearly flat, so I took the few hills in pretty big gears.

My hands were cold when I got back, despite my fall gloves, which are rated for -5 Celsius.

Posted by Mark at 08:03 PM

October 14, 2004

Aaarrrghh

Got all ready to go for a bike ride today at noon, but we've had rain and lower temperatures the whole day so far. Unfortunately I was so ready to bike that I forgot to bring running clothes. So I'm taking it easy today, the first whole work day in a while with no exercise.

Posted by Mark at 01:40 PM | Comments (2)

October 13, 2004

41:43:55

My feet and legs have become used to the orthotic inserts, but I've lost ground training. My legs felt unusually heavy for the first 2/3 of the 10k, and I wasn't breathing easily. Psychologically, I'm in the dog house. I'd guess that tiredness from yesterday's ride only accounts for part of my slowness.

Running seems a more internal sport than cycling. By that I mean your performance when cycling depends on externals like hills, valleys, flats, wind. At times you must work very hard. Other times you coast. When running on a mostly flat surface, you simply have to force yourself to work hard steadily. The landscape has much less to do with it, internal rhythm and motivation much more.

Posted by Mark at 02:05 PM

October 12, 2004

Rain

I dropped out of a meeting this afternoon a quarter of an hour early in an attempt to beat the rain on the way home, but only succeeded in getting dripped on almost the whole way.

It wouldn't be so bad, except that the faster you go, the less you can see. Also, evening rain tends to bring twilight early.

Posted by Mark at 08:05 PM | Comments (1)

Darker days

I rode in to work this morning, starting at about 7:45 am, which is about as early as I can comfortably start now. It's a little frightening riding down the hill next to La Buissière in twilight.

I'll also have to leave by 6 pm, since it's starting to get dark earlier. Batteries power the lights on my bike. It's enough perhaps to be seen, but not enough to see crud in the road.

Furthermore, 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) is about as cold as you want it to be before you consider other methods of locomotion.

Posted by Mark at 09:17 AM | Comments (1)

October 09, 2004

Puncture

This morning near Baberaz on the way to Chambery, I rolled over something sharp in the road and punctured my rear tire. Whatever it was left a visible hole in the tire, not just the tube. I wonder if I ought to buy another tire.

Luckily, I'd taken Rob's advice and had an inner tube and little pump in a bag underneath my seat. My tires are clinchers, so I deflated the inner tube and used small steel tire irons to remove the back tire. I learned there that I need softer tire irons. The steel ones scratched my rim a little.

Good thing I had a second inner tube. It wasn't until this morning that I noticed the glue in my patch kit had all dried up inside the tube.

For the pump, I need to replace the CO2 cartridge. To use this pump, you first inflate the tire a bit by hand to verify everything, then use the cartridge to inflate the tire to full pressure. Inflating the tire to full pressure by hand with my tiny pump doesn't look feasible, since full pressure for racing tires is about 120 psi. The guy who sold me the bike told me the way to avoid knocking the rims out of true and breaking spokes is to keep the tires fully inflated, so I don't want to ride without being able to do that.

Since I didn't get a long workout, I decided to charge the hills going home. By charging the hills, I mean riding up each hill in a gear just higher than the highest I can do without slowing my cadence, and then trying to keep the cadence anyway. After the first hill, my leg muscles were suffering. By the last little rise outside Barraux, I almost cracked. Your heart and lungs also get a workout when you ride like that.

Posted by Mark at 11:36 AM

October 05, 2004

Under an hour

This evening was the first time I've had a tailwind coming home.

I didn't catch my time this morning, as I was wearing long sleeves that somehow rubbed against the stop/start button on my watch. When I got to the parking lot at work, my watch was at 37 minutes and counting. So I don't really know how long it took.

Nor do I know exactly how long it took to ride home. But there are storms brewing, so I had tailwinds some of the way. I left no earlier than about 6:05 pm, and arrived before 7:03 pm.

It was definitely easier. I had lots more energy left at the hill leaving La Buissière.

Posted by Mark at 09:06 PM

October 02, 2004

Headwinds

While Tim was riding around Fort Barraux, I had a little time to ride as well.

I went over to Pontcharra, and was going to try to ride north along the river. That proved to be a dirt trail. Not compatible with my bike.

So I rode over to the roundabout at the lake in La Rochette. Unfortunately there was a headwind coming back, so the cars passed me going downhill.

Then I took the road from Pontcharra out through Laissaud and up to Montmélian. Had some headwinds there.

But the heavy headwinds were going north from Montmélian up to the roundabout where you can turn left to go through Les Marches. That stretch is also slightly uphill, though not as much as the ride out to La Rochette. So although I had plenty of ventilation, I didn't cool off.

The hill up to Les Marches almost felt easy by comparison, and I stayed near the same gearing as the slight, but long rise from Montmélian, except near the crest. The only part of the ride where I got really to fly was from Les Marches down to Chapareillan.

From Chapareillan, I went to pick Tim up in Barraux. Now that I've been riding for a few weeks, that hill up from the roundabout at the edge of Chapareillan no longer feels like much.

Posted by Mark at 06:02 PM

September 30, 2004

Le Pinet

The point of taking the train and bringing my bike in this morning was to go for a ride with the guys this noon. Seven of us went to a place called Le Pinet, which is up on the Belledonne side.

Beautiful day. All I need to learn to do is come back down without being scared, braking, and turning with my handlebars instead of leaning into the turns.

Posted by Mark at 01:53 PM

September 29, 2004

There and back again

Yesterday was the first day I rode both to and from work, each trip during periods of fairly heavy traffic. I also ran at lunch time, still jogging slowly to get completely used to my orthotic inserts.

Things to remember:

I expect to try riding the train with my bike soon. Less convenient than taking the car, but probably more convenient than riding all the way in.

Posted by Mark at 12:28 AM

September 28, 2004

56:52:98

Matt was right that the new bike would make a difference. My previous record was 1:02:45:22.

Not only did I make it from home to work in under an hour, but this time includes slowdowns in Crolles and St. Ismier because of dense traffic. The slowdowns there are bad because they happen on downhill slopes. Also I had a big pack on my back, because I'd not thought to bring in clothing and shoes yesterday for today.

Posted by Mark at 12:01 PM | Comments (2)

September 25, 2004

Col du Granier

This afternoon, Nathalie agreed to let me take my new bike for a ride. Since I've been itching to do it for a while, but my old bike wasn't up to it, I rode to the Granier Pass.

Granier Pass lies at 1134 m elevation, 9 km outside Chapareillan. You start at about 280 m elevation, so you average an almost 9.5% grade. It's not all uphill however, because there are two spots where I could coast, although not for long. There's also a couple of flattish spots where you finally get out of first gear and stop huffing and puffing so much.

That means there are also parts that just hurt. At a few points you look forward to sharp left turns because they have a few meters of almost flat road around the outside edge, and you can rest your quivering legs for a second.

My lowest gear is 30 up front for 23 in back. Several slopes had me wishing for larger cogs in back. Also I need to adjust the tension on the front derailleur. I cannot get it to stay in the right position for using cogs 2-4 in the back when on the 30 up front. But they told me at the shop there'd probably be a few things to adjust, and the 3 month tune up is free.

It's about 17 degrees C down here in the valley today, but I could see my breath up there. My toes and fingertips were cold right at the top.

And they were freezing for the first half of the descent. I'm thankful to Matt for his suggestion about only breaking in the straightaways, since that gave me something to think about. Otherwise the midwesterner in me would've filled my shorts had everything not puckered up in terror. I understood why you need glasses for those rides when a tiny little speck of something almost went in my right eye. You need to be alert like a fighter pilot.

All in all, highly recommended, but only if you have faith in your bicycle and especially in your brakes.

Posted by Mark at 06:12 PM | Comments (2)

September 23, 2004

More biking

After snapping the front break cable on my old bike, I stopped riding this week, instead wearing in my orthotic inserts by running gently with Stu, and then with Stu and Lana.

But today I bought a new bike. Stu took me over to Decathlon to take delivery at lunch time. That I cannot really afford it was conveniently forgotten as soon as I got the pedals sorted out.

I didn't have long, so I rode out from La Tronche up the national road to the first intersection at St. Ismier, at the top of the long hill. Tearing down that hill was a gas, although I had to break for and route around a slow moving camper at one point.

A complete absence of mechanical concerns made the ride more fun than any I've had since using Rob's bike.

Rob said we ought to go out for a ride at some point. Then before I left work, Matt was explaining how to check that the seat's set up right, and said we should go out for a ride sometime at lunch. I asked him about Granier Pass. He kind of laughed and said he only knew it going down, but it had some great turns. He apparently barrels through those turns like a motorcycle racer, leaning precariously, his inside knee almost touching the ground. Matt says he comes back down from the Chartreuse into the valley over the Granier Pass sometimes.

I asked him if he'd learned how to fall. He said he hasn't fallen in a turn like that, but instead has always managed to pull out of it enough to straighten out and run into the bushes on the side of the road. He used to do a lot of mountain biking. One thing he learned was never to break in the turns, even if it meant going off into the brush.

His wife races, however, and she's fallen off more than once. Ice is the main culprit according to Matt.

Posted by Mark at 09:30 PM

September 17, 2004

Flat, part III

After fixing the tire this morning, I rode the bike into Barraux this afternoon to check that everything was working.

Both derailleurs seem slightly out of adjustment. The bottom bracket seems less and less well adjusted, too. And then on the way down the hill, I snapped the front brake cable.

Posted by Mark at 09:06 PM

Flat, part II

Today's a day "off" (i.e. babysitting), so Diane helped me fix my flat tire.

First we took the old tube off and fixed one hole. Then we put it back on. We pumped it up. Then we took it off and fixed another hole. Then we put it back on again. Then the nylon sheathing burst at one point along the wall of the tire.

So I took Diane to the sports equipment store in town, which is not cheap but probably works out cheaper than driving to Chambery. The tire I got for less than 6 euros. It says "Made in Vietnam" on the side. I also decided to invest in a new inner tube, since the one I have now has 3 patches including one put on last year. The inner tube cost me less than 3 euros and was also from Southeast Asia. Nothing seems to leak so far.

While at the sports store, I also noticed name brands, but not for the style of tire I was buying. For example, I saw some Michelin sew ups. They were priced at 39.90. The pair of those probably weighed less than the single clincher and tube I bought.

After putting the tires and one fender back on my bicycle, I noticed the front derailleur was rubbing and the bottom bracket is loose. That bike's becoming higher maintenance than my old car.

Posted by Mark at 01:56 PM

September 15, 2004

Some adjustments needed

Got the orthotic inserts for my shoes this morning, and ran 10k this noon.

At about 7k I stopped to remove the inserts. On my feet, each insole has a blister about 3 cm long with pink liquid inside. It felt like I had gravel or wood splints fastened to the insole of each shoe, especially the left one.

The thing is, at first you don't know whether the painful bother is part of the correction or more of the problem. Guess I need to make another appointment with Dr. Couture.

Posted by Mark at 01:36 PM

September 14, 2004

Flat

My aim today was to ride to work and back. But Nathalie had to come and get me 1/3 of the way back from work. My back tire blew out at the roundabout on the edge of Crolles. I didn't have a replacement inner tube, nor tire irons.

Good thing my inserts are supposed to be ready tomorrow morning. Should be able to start running again.

Matt Swift, one of the developers on Directory Server, does lots of biking. When I told him I was riding in and back home sometimes, he said I ought to be able to do it in 45 minutes (avg. speed about 43 k/h). Considering that it takes about that long in the car, I guess that he's either overly optimistic or almost ready for the Tour de France.

Posted by Mark at 08:51 PM | Comments (2)

September 10, 2004

16:07:24

Almost a minute faster than yesterday rolling over here from the train station at Gières.

I tried going around the back way. Took one wrong turn, but that doesn't count. The route along the river looks flatter and shorter.

Posted by Mark at 03:33 PM

September 09, 2004

17:04:27

From the Gières/Universités station, even taking an initial wrong turn, then riding an out of the way route around tram construction, I can get to work in about 17 minutes.

I wonder if there's not a faster route through Gières, then crossing the Isère on a main road rather than the foot and bike bridge near the university.

Posted by Mark at 10:58 AM

September 08, 2004

27:02:43

27:02:43 was the time it took me around noon to ride from the Grenoble train station parking lot to the door here at work. I was not at full speed the whole time by any means. This time includes taking several wrong turns and backtracking from those, plus occasional stops for indecision. In town I also had a few red lights.

Trouble is, even if I could reduce that to 20 minutes, it would still be a bit long.

I've been over to the university grounds several times, but never found the train station over there. Maybe I should have another look.

Posted by Mark at 02:19 PM

September 04, 2004

Biking again

Nathalie got my wheel back from the shop. The guy there finally found a lever long enough to unscrew the freewheel, apparently. It ended up costing my 20 euros and a spoke to have the broken spoke replaced.

And one of us, either he or I, made the freewheel stick worse than it used to. When I stop pedalling, I need to move the chain to the larger sprokets on the back. Otherwise it pops off the end of smallest cog, as the derailleur cannot absorb the sudden jerks and extra slack. Furthermore, if I get off the bike and hold the pedal still after starting the back wheel turning, the back wheel will actually come quickly to a stop. Hope it doesn't break someday in a dangerous fashion.

The ride itself took me out past Myans, where the bike trails let you ride on to Chambery. Since I hadn't had anything to drink before leaving, and it's 30 C (86 F) in Chambery right now, I turned around shortly beyond the point where the trail traverses the autoroute. Maybe I can get out there tomorrow before it gets warm. Chambery is closer than work.

Posted by Mark at 05:32 PM | Comments (2)

August 26, 2004

X-rays for stress fractures, part III

Dr. Rantz of Pontcharra says his best guess is that the bone's fine, but the calf muscle's torn or stretched. He prescribes a visit to a foot doctor who can prescribe shoe inserts for running, and an ultrasound of the calf muscle for further diagnosis.

Still haven't been able to remove the gear cog on the rear wheel of my bicycle, and have taken Nathalie's, which is too small. Also jumped rope, but there are two problems with that. First, it puts some of the same pressure on the muscle as running does. Second, after about 15 minutes jumping rope, I start losing my coordination.

Did ride to and from the park in La Rochette yesterday. In both directions, I was less than 5 minutes behind everyone else. They took the car.

Posted by Mark at 11:00 AM | Comments (2)

August 24, 2004

Rain

The week's starting off badly.

Yesterday, I didn't get out, except to ride about 3 kilometers to and from the x-ray center.

Today, it started raining in the middle of the night and hasn't let up. Diane has clung to me since 5 am. Going to try jumping rope as an alternative.

Removed the rear wheel of my bicycle to replace a broken spoke. Whoever came up with the law that the bread falls butter side down knows that law also applies to broken spokes. First, they always break on the rear wheel, where you apply the weight. Second, they always break on the same side as the sprocket, so you have to take the sprocket off to replace the spoke.

Sprocket removal requires special tools. Nathalie picked up the removal tool needed on a trip to Chambery.

In rereading the instructions under the link above, I notice that, "It will typically require some force to turn the freewheel." Sounds like an understatement to me. Yesterday I was afraid that even if I did manage to turn something, the wheel would thereafter be unusable. Better workout than benchpressing.

Posted by Mark at 04:30 PM

X-rays for stress fractures, part II

My x-rays showed no fractures. The doctor suggested I get a special scan to be sure.

Perhaps the problem is not fractures, but a stretched ligament or something like that. Now the plan is to go see a regular sports doctor and take him the x-rays.

Posted by Mark at 04:19 PM

August 23, 2004

X-rays for stress fractures

Went today to have my shin x-rayed.

The guy doing the x-rays had to take 4 sets of images. He said stress fractures are difficult to capture on x-rays.

I'd have had to wait an hour in their waiting room to see them today. Guess they're not quite like polaroids.

Posted by Mark at 09:08 PM

August 17, 2004

1:02:45:22

The rain mostly spared me on the way in this morning, except for a symbolic storm starting at St. Ismier. French thunderstorms compare to midwestern hard rains, let alone plains states downpours, as demitasse coffee cups compare to US mugs. Granted I had a hard time keeping my eyes open on the hill down from St. Ismier to Montbonnot, but that had more to do with the angle of the rain than the quanity.

Nath had me buy a helmet. I paid more than I wanted to. But the helmet fits fairly well, and is not as much of a bother as I thought it would be.

The breeze that blew in my face last night and caused me to take about 1:09:35 to get home came from behind this morning. Had I not worried about my brakes on some downhills, I might have shaved off another minute.

Posted by Mark at 09:54 AM

August 13, 2004

1:05:19:64

The bike ride into work takes me downhill a bit overall, so I only had to get off the bicycle to move the chain twice. Once halfway up the hill in Biviers, once at the top of the hill just outside St. Nazaire.

Posted by Mark at 08:19 AM | Comments (3)

August 12, 2004

1:07:19:12

Although the front derailleur for my bike is sitting in the trunk of my car, I was able to shave almost 5 minutes of my time riding home today. I attribute this to Rob and Matt's help and suggestions about how to get the breaks to work, and to chopping part of the ride off by taking a different road from Montbonnot to St. Ismier.

Had to get of the bike on 5-6 times to change sprockets in front, but it's enough to see why people want derailleurs. I tried to repair a malfunctioning cable by removing the wires in the casing, but this made the derailleur useless, when I couldn't find a way to maintain appropriate tension in the cable.

Posted by Mark at 07:57 PM

August 10, 2004

More borrowed biking

Rob lent me his bike this noon. Made me feel like a teenager again, where you get going fast enough that the potholes in the road seem like a big obstacle to progress and the bike just disappears underneath you. Definitely need to win the lottery.

Posted by Mark at 07:08 PM

August 09, 2004

Borrowed bike

Luke let me borrow his bicycle this noon for a ride. His seems about twice as light as mine, with really low granny gears and lots in between. And the brakes work!

So I rode up to Corenc and came down the other side into La Tronche. The exhilarating part came after that however on the ride back from Grenoble out to Montbonnot. Down in La Tronche where the tramway splits the road out to the hospital, I could almost keep up with the cars. It felt great.

All I need to do is when the lottery and I'll go get myself a new bike...

Posted by Mark at 10:12 PM

August 06, 2004

Too mechanical

Biking brings you down into the mechanics of things, worse than setting up a new system on a computer. At least on the computer, once you have everything configured, it stays configured. When hardware breaks, you don't get greasy.

After climbing the long hill from down at the roundabout in front of the Montbonnot side of the autoroute up to St. Ismier, I was looking forward to picking up speed. Then part of the cable to my front derailleur pulled out of its clip, so I couldn't get any traction to move the cage over to the high gear. Nor would the cage stay over once I got off the bike and moved the chain manually. People at bus stops were wondering about the guy riding a chainsaw along the national road ;-)

Posted by Mark at 01:53 PM

August 05, 2004

Faster on the way in

Riding back in this morning, I left at just after 7:00 and arrived at the door just before 8:08. Didn't time it with the stopwatch. From atop a bicycle, Bernin becomes a long painful hill, but not nearly the heartbreaker behind La Buissiere up to Barraux. Scorched my breaks on the way down from Montbonnot.

Posted by Mark at 08:53 AM

August 04, 2004

1:12:11:14

That's how long it took me to bike home today. Slight headwind, and Barraux must sit at a higher elevation than the ZIRST in Montbonnot. Wonder how far it is.

A few hours later...
Turns out Barraux is at 360 m. Montbonnot is apparently at 300 m, but the Mairie is at least 50 m higher than the ZIRST. Grenoble's at 212 m, and the ZIRST couldn't be much higher than that.

According to mappy.com, it's about 33 k from work to our house.

Posted by Mark at 04:53 PM

August 02, 2004

No breaks

Today marks the second time I've ridden rather than run to give my right shin a break.

The first half generated gobs of lactic acid in my thighs. I rode from work up to the intersection in Corenc where the road continues uphill. At the top my legs shook from exertion.

My heart may have been beating harder on the way down, however. I'm starting to wonder how much it would cost to get a bicycle with functioning brakes. The exhilaration produced by wind in your hair and sense of speed as you glide downhill appears proportional to the control you have over that speed. I even got off to walk a couple of times.

Not sure terror can really replace exercise.

(Thanks to my editor for correcting spelling mistakes.)

Posted by Mark at 01:37 PM | Comments (2)

July 30, 2004

Slowly hobbling

Today I ran 10 k slowly (46 minutes). Even that hurt my right shin. It feels like I'm running off balance.

Posted by Mark at 03:45 PM

July 29, 2004

Shin splints

Although I seem to have something like shin splints in my right shin, I've continued to run. On Monday I tried to run hard, and was limping until Tuesday evening.

Tuesday I ran a short distance with friends. Yesterday I didn't even run. Today I ran gently with Stu about 11 k, but we took well over an hour.

My leg seems in better shape. Hope running slowly for a while will let it heal.

Posted by Mark at 08:45 PM

July 19, 2004

22:51

My right shin still bothers me, so I went and bought new, well-cushioned shoes, suggested according to the wear patterns on the other shoes I have. These I took up to Rochasson from work in 22:51. Not sure how far that is, but there are several steep spots. The two minutes from 18:15 to 20:15 were on the little heartbreaker of a shortcut in between the houses. My round trip time was 42:23:70. I took a longer route coming down than going up.

Yesterday I went for a bike ride, but it's just not the same workout. Biking without toeclips leaves the entire workout in the thighs. At Chapareillan, I started up toward the col du Granier, but chickened out. First, it was hard work. Second, my bike's breaks sort of work, but not enough to stop the bike on a good downhill run. Even just on the rolling hills between Myans and Les Marches, or the long slow hill from Les Marches down to Chapareillan had me nervous. What seemed most different is how on the bike I could hardly work my muscles hard enough to get out of breath. Legs gave out before lungs.

Posted by Mark at 02:22 PM

July 12, 2004

What gets measured...

...is what gets done. Nath got my watch band replaced. One shouldn't pretend to train without a watch.

After a weekend of limping up and down stairs, I followed Dana's suggestion to see if the shin pain depends on my shoes. I ran today with my old pair. Those old worn shoes had me feeling the stones underfoot, but my shin doesn't feel sore right now. I was hobbling along for about the first 4 k, however, though it was beautiful weather for a run, low 20s centigrade, not too much sun. When I got to the 5 k mark at 21:36, I realized I needed to speed up to finish 14 k in an hour. I didn't make it out to the bridge (halfway) until 30:10.

Then the combination of having a stopwatch ticking on my wrist and the shin pain leaving almost completely about 8.5 k into the run pushed me onward. I ran the second half in about 29 minutes to finish in 59:10:98.

Posted by Mark at 02:36 PM

July 09, 2004

Overdid it?

Since I went for a half marathon length run a couple of weeks ago, I've had a bit of soreness down the front of my right calf next to the shin bone.

Yesterday I ran 14 k, then went again about 7 k with Karine, Didier, and Jacques's wife, whose first name I've forgotten, but jogged slowly most of the way. This evening my leg feels fairly sore. It hurt for about the first half of the 10 k I ran at lunchtime.

Hope it's not going to keep me from running at some point. I've almost convinced myself to sign up for the Marathon de Savoie in mid-September.

Posted by Mark at 09:34 PM | Comments (1)

July 07, 2004

One to hang up behind Rochasson

penitents.jpg

Saw this one last weekend.

Posted by Mark at 10:40 PM

July 02, 2004

Apemen

Almost halfway through today's run, I came upon a couple of guys running in the same direction. They'd just finished stretching, and took off shortly before I passed the spot where they'd stopped.

They seemed to run at about the same speed as I ran, or perhaps slightly slower. So I sped up just enough to catch them over the next kilometer, roughly.

30 seconds after I passed them, one guy said to the other, "Ok, I'm going to run a little faster for the next half a kilometer." They were at what was for them conversational speed, but it was a reasonable pace, maybe 13-14k/hr.

So that guy took off, speeding up to what would've been a sprint for me. His partner also sped up enough to pass me, but perhaps only half as much. I reached my halfway point then, and turned around.

Apes must do this, too. We'd have heard about it, but they're too smart to run.

Posted by Mark at 02:34 PM

June 30, 2004

5:28:89

On Dana's suggestion, I ran a mile. Or, rather, 1609 meters. It took me 5:28:89, which I don't think is my best time ever. It does, however, suggest that after a year of running my cardiovascular system has gotten back into roughly the shape it was in when I was 14 years old.

Two blasts from the past following that run:


  1. Iron taste of blood at the back of my throat 10 seconds after stopping.

  2. Accidentally turned the shower down too far, and the water turned cold. At this point I remembered my week in Richardson, Texas, where I failed to become a door-to-door salesman. Southwestern Company handlers had us take cold -- instead of hot -- showers in the morning, ostensibly to wake us up more effectively for a long day selling.

Posted by Mark at 01:07 PM | Comments (2)

June 28, 2004

Slow

Today the temperature rose to almost 35 degrees Celsius at noon. I walked out of the air conditioned office and took a lungful of air that could've come from a swimming pool under a greenhouse.

It took me 1:03:09 just to run 14k. Maybe the half marathon last Friday hasn't finshed with me yet. I never did wake up today.

Posted by Mark at 09:26 PM

June 25, 2004

1:30:04:87

If Stuart's measurements are close to correct, I managed to run a half marathon in 1:30:04:87 today. Tried to go faster at the end and come in under 90 minutes, but just couldn't get my legs to do it.

At 1:01:30, I was feeling pretty thirsty. At 1:15, I was drying out. At the end, I was sweating less than when I ran 10k yesterday, even though today was hotter. Need to figure out how to take some water for runs that long.

Posted by Mark at 02:51 PM | Comments (1)

June 22, 2004

Tempo run

Hal Higdon suggests in his intermediate half marathon training writeup that once a week you do a tempo run. "This is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace."

My first tempo run was today, doing 10k in 41:56 with splits as follows:

  1. 11:09 at 2.5k
  2. 20:57 at 5k
  3. 31:25 at 7.5k
  4. 41:56 at 10k

I found it difficult to build up gradually. It felt like I was flying along from about 4-5k. Then I had to force myself just to run hard to about 6k and sprint about a half kilometer beyond that. As soon as I slowed down after the sprint, by legs felt very heavy. Slowing down was almost more painful than running hard at that point. After what seemed like jogging back, I had enough at the end, however, to sprint like somebody who hadn't just run 10k. I usually don't have near that much left.

Posted by Mark at 09:39 PM

June 21, 2004

Half marathon?

Running a marathon seems like too much right now. Hal Higdon suggests you prepare 18 weeks in advance, with long runs every Sunday. I'm sure Nath would love it when I tell her I'm going running for 3 hours, leaving the 3 little ones at home on what's supposed to be a vacation day for her.

It looks like the Grenoble half marathon planned for Sept. 1 got cancelled. The one in Chambery is already over for this year. Need to look around and find something for the end of summer, beginning of fall.

Posted by Mark at 10:53 PM

June 17, 2004

40:00:26!

The psychological barrier of 41 minutes is gone. I just ran 10k in 40:00:26.

My splits were as follows:

  1. 9:28 at 2.5k
  2. 19:26 at 5k
  3. 30:15 at 7.5k
  4. 40:00:26 at 10k

Unfortunately for appearances, I sounded like a wounded air mattress, and was sweating like a warthog. But it was for a good cause. Under 40 here we come! (Unless it was the Solipred (cortisone) I got with the antibiotics for my sinus infection.)

Posted by Mark at 01:07 PM

June 09, 2004

Intervals

Went running intervals this morning. I'm almost back to normal.

The trouble now is that as the sinus infection receded, my sense of smell came back... just as I was entering the changing room to go take a shower.

Posted by Mark at 10:55 AM

June 07, 2004

Sinus infection

The doctor diagnosed me with a sinus infection. Today, it warmed up to around 30 degrees C when I ran at noon. I didn't have my watch, but after about 10 km, I felt pretty tired and had a pounding headache.

The doctor estimates the antibiotics should relieve the pressure by 2 days from now, so I hope the Wednesday run feels easier. I should take my watch and see how much I've slowed down.

Posted by Mark at 09:05 PM

June 06, 2004

Explanation for slowness?

This weekend, I've have fever spells and strong sinus headaches. My breath rattles in the top of my lungs, and I've felt dizzy since yesterday.

So maybe that's why I felt I was slowing down progressively as the week went by. May decide to go see the doctor for the first time in a couple of years.

Posted by Mark at 08:39 PM

June 02, 2004

By the way

I never did run enough kilometers while out on vacation. Tuesday at work I had a hectic day, but finally got out at 3:30 pm. Running a 41:46 10K felt like hard work.

Today I took it easy, went out at lunchtime, and had no watch on. The t-shirt I had on is all cotton, and is probably still dripping wet. At about 7-8K I started holding it out in front of me so I could breathe.

The funny thing out along the Isere the last two days has been the number of gnats that end up smashed from my chest to my neck. At least I didn't have to eat any today.

While we're talking by the way, Stuart managed to run his 10K in... 55:55. That was a record for him, and very much under the hour he planned to beat. Kudos, Stu!

Posted by Mark at 09:37 PM

May 07, 2004

Over a year now

I started running regularly again over a year ago now, in April 2003. At the outset, I ran 6 1/4 km (3.9 mi) three times a week. My weekly distance now lies at over 50 km (over 30 mi).

Running hits your joints harder than other aerobic sports, but it remains the fastest way for me to get a workout. My 14 km (about 8 3/4 mi) Monday and Friday runs now take less than an hour sometimes, and rarely much more. That's something like using energy at 12x the normal rate, so gives my heart, lungs, and muscles a chance to recover from sitting in front of a screen so much of the time.

My record speed for the old 6 1/4 km run stands at 23:21. That works out to a 3:44 km (5:59 mi). When I was less than half my age, the fastest I managed to run 1.6 km was 5:23, which is a 3:22 km. So after a year of running, I feel I'm in better shape than I've been for a while.

One guy at work who has run several marathons suggested I try one. I've seen good training suggestions for free on the web, such as those at Halhigdon.com. But when I start thinking about running a marathon, I realize I don't just want to finish without injury. I want to run it in a respectable time. Doing that is probably still a way off.

What is a respectable time? My aim for 10 km is under 40 minutes. That means 1 km every 4 minutes average for 10 of them. A 6:24 mi pace for 40 minutes, in other words. Right now, my best times are over 41 minutes.

If I can get 10 km in under 40 minutes, my hope is to be able to get 42 km under 200 minutes. I'd like to aim for 3:15. That would qualify me for the Boston Marathon in a couple of years from now. It'll probably take me that long to get that fast.

Posted by Mark at 09:12 PM