Some Things Sunday - #1

In (yet another) effort to tie together all of the thoughts I have flying around in this brain, I'm starting Some Things Sunday. Some Things Sunday is just going to be a various assortment of some things that I feel like talking about. Mostly random. I'm not going to really proofread, but just work on getting it out there.

So here goes Week #1 of Some Things Sunday...

1) Boston. 
Boston still stays with me. There hasn't been a day that's passed yet that I haven't thought about the runners, spectators, and the families & friends who were directly affected by the events in Boston. We got some closure last week when we saw the news about how the suspects were identified and found - and I couldn't peel myself away from the TV all day as everything unfolded.

The Boston Marathon is symbolic of a lot of things - achievement, spirit, hard work, triumph, setbacks, patriotism... these are just a few. This is why I take this attack on those ideals so very personally. While I'm still both angry and sad that this happened, so many wonderful things have come out of this horrible event. Erin's right - people are just friendlier. You see more smiles and waves from runners and non-runners on the street. In fact, I almost cried the other day when I was out shopping on the Friday of the terrorist capture: a rather heavy college-age girl and her mom were in my aisle, and the girl turned to her mother and said, "Mom, I think I want to run a mini marathon." Mom: "Why??" Girl: "Well, with all this stuff that's happening in Boston, I want to do it.... I can run a 5k, and if I can train for a 10k and maybe run 9 or 10 miles, I think I could run a mini marathon."  ...I wanted to hug this stranger girl on the spot. No, I didn't freak them out. But it brought a tear to my eye!

I want to continue to end on a happy note, so I'm going to show you some of the signs I saw in Boston... and hopefully they will inspire you too!

2) Puppy Training
...is going swimmingly!
We took Toby out to the B-Line today and let things come to us. He got to meet some new dogs, walked around inside JL Waters, saw some bikes and runners. He was so good! Toby turns 14 weeks old tomorrow, and he's already GREAT on the leash, knows "sit," "down," "stay," and "come."

3) PRs!!!!
Maffetone Training wins again! I've been doing nothing but slow, easy runs since the last time I posted about my training secret.

Round 1: Last week, Ben and I ran the Hoosiers Care 5k. I haven't raced a distance this short in a while, and it was on a pretty hilly course. I ran a 19:30-something on a 3.2-mile course, and Ben had me at 19:06 for the 3.1 mile mark. Woohoo!

Round 2: This week, I ran the Magnificent 7k [results]. It's been really nice getting back into the swing of Mag 7 races, but with more of the ultra & trail races coming up, I'm not sure how many I'll get to this season once the season really begins! Anyway, I felt heavy all during my warm-up and when the race started, finally kicked it and was able to go. I averaged something like 6:20 miles. I met some really great girls after the run - can't wait to run with/into them again soon!

4) Ladies' Night
Areté Athletic's first-ever Ladies' Night was a success! Sports bra fittings, nutrition consultation, skincare consultation, chair massages, ART from my favorite chiro, cupcakes & frosting I made myself, and Oliver Wine... all the makings of a great Monday night. I made it a Spring garden party theme, and it was so much fun. I met lots of ladies I hadn't met before, so hopefully this'll help us get the word out about the store. #tellyourfriends

5) Work
Some weeks are just fascinating. This week, I was in Indy Monday - Friday. Mon/Tues I learned about school safety -- preventing school shootings, what a school resource officer does, visitor access control to school buildings, and other safety issues. It was really enlightening! Did you know.... the human brain can efficiently process only:

• 27 words, 9 seconds, or 3 main points in one statement
• 30 words, 20 minutes, or 10 slides on a single PowerPoint presentation

...think about it.

Also, I had a team meeting and met some of my new team members from the Indiana/Michigan Region. We had some fun nights hanging out after work activites, including a night at Latitude 39 (like Dave & Buster's) near Keystone. We did a Minute-To-Win-It challenge and played the arcade games. My favorite arcade game was one where you hit targets on a screen by throwing plastic balls that are like ball-pit balls. I've never seen a game like it but it was so fun! On Minute-To-Win-It, we elected a team member from our 3-person team to put a cookie on his/her forehead, and then work it down (no hands allowed!) with their face and then eating it. First to eat the cookie wins. :)

That's the whole story! Hope you enjoyed Some Things Sunday. Have a great week, everyone!

Boston Marathon 2013

*This is a repost from my other blog. I will post more once I have a chance to digest it all and once everything unfolds. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers on Monday - I am safe and sound!

On Monday, someone tried to rob us of the joy that marks a lifetime achievement of qualifying for and running in the Boston Marathon. In a few seconds' time, a celebratory running event turned into one having nothing to do with sport or running -- it became about feeling secure on our own turf.

I crossed the finish line about 40 minutes before the two blasts occurred, and was a block parallel from the explosions. Three days later, I'm still not sure how to react and I'm struggling to gather my thoughts. It's impossible to describe the exact way I'm feeling. At first, I was really angry. And I can't stop replaying everything I saw in those moments in slow-motion in my head. I feel sad, and I'm haunted by the photos and videos I've seen in the media coverage. How easily could one of those runners or spectators hurt or killed have been me? It hurts to imagine the pain and not-knowing that families, friends, and the injured themselves are experiencing right now.

I am well and so thankful to come home to my family. I'm taking in every step, every chore, and every conversation like it's a privilege. The one thing I can do is keep running.

Friends, live each moment without regrets. Tell your family how much you love them. Enjoy all of the little things. Go out for a run today, and let's stand up for Boston. No matter where or who you are, let's show this someone that they failed... we're now stronger, prouder, and won't let anyone ever try to take away our joy.

Method to the Mafness

...I couldn't help myself. I had to make a really horrible pun. Ok, ok... it's out of my system. ;)

Let's talk about the Maffetone Method again. Ben wrote a wonderful little post about the Maf Test and this run-easy training method we've been practicing. For those of you who love the science and enjoy nerding out to the reasons why things work, this post is not for you. This is a practical gathering of my understanding, observations, and experiences with running under the Maffetone Method for - now - over a year. (In other words, I'm taking a load of information and condensing it to easy-to-swallow highlights!) Let's call it the quick-start guide to the Maffetone Method.

WHAT IT IS
Who's this Maff guy? Phil Maffetone's a doctor who studied endurance athletes, runners. There's still not a lot of numbers and data on this - he says that he's seen this method work based on his experience and a similar, but not exact, research study he did back in the day.

But to me, this method trains your body to use oxygen and fuel efficiently. Running below a certain effort level results in your body burning more fat and less carbs. At a higher exertions, the body switches to burning a higher mix of carbs. Fats supply a lot more energy/calories and break down slower (than carbs), which supplies us more energy. Training your body to burn more fats gets you to be more efficient with your energy use.

So, efficiency = less energy needed for the same effort. Wheels turning: if I can run a 4-hour marathon using less energy than I was before, then if I run at the same effort as before and am now more efficient, my marathon time should be faster than it was before. #Winning.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Ugh. This is the part where I have to brag a little, not to make myself feel like a superstar, but because I need to convince you that this works! There are a ton of other benefits, but if you're skeptical about this training method or are just interested in setting PRs for yourself, what you're about to read might convince you to run slower in order to get faster.

Since January 1, 2012, Ben has been using me as his guinea pig, whether he admits it or not. :) During this time, I have not followed a training plan and have been running under the Maffetone Method -- in other words, all slow and easy runs. I haven't trained specifically for any races, and usually signed up if I felt good that week. It's worked!

50 miles later...

• Ran a 50k trail race - significantly farther and longer (time-wise) than I've ever run.
• Ran a 50 mile trail race - even farther than I'd run before! ...with a 3rd place overall finish.
• Broke my 400-meter PR during a random track workout (relay night) I jumped in (74 sec?)
• Ran a 5k PR on the track during a time trial - besting my earlier PR by >15 seconds
• Ran a lifetime mile PR on the track during a time trial, cutting 5 seconds off of my recent mile PR from 4 weeks earlier.
• Ran a personal weekly mileage PR of 100+ miles, averaged over 50 weekly miles in 2012.

/End brag. (Whew)

WHAT WE DID
Running
We ran! We hooked ourselves up to heart rate monitors for each run, and set alarms on our Garmins for 80% of max heart rate. Based on my age, that's around 156 beats per minute. Every time the alert went off or was about to go off, we'd slow down and get the heart rate under control.

It was a battle! There was quite a bit of walking at first (and as the summer humidity started to set in, MORE walking!). If this is any idea for you, my PR marathon pace is around 7:30/mile. I was running - at 80% - somewhere closer to 9- and 10-minute miles at first. Doing this while fighting a little bit of anemia, that pace went up to 10-11 minutes/mile at times. Every day was different, depending on how I felt-- so one day, I could be at 9-minute pace, and the next (on the same route) could be 11 minutes/mile. Add hills, and runs just took a little bit of patience. And accepting that walking was ok.

Source

What's more important is what you don't see on my list of how I ran. I had runs like these rarely (less than once a month):

• track workouts and speed work
• fast runs or races
• tempo/pace runs
• strides/pick-ups

After a few weeks of this, it became easier to predict when the heart rate alert was about to go off to signal that I was exceeding 156 bpm. Also, after a few months my normal 80% pace dropped down to 8:30, 8:15, and approached 8 minutes/mile.

I have to stress the patience part of this training method. I was doing a lot of runs by myself or going with a slower group because it was too easy/tempting to get "sucked in" by the group at group runs, and then exceed my heart rate. Best test? If you can talk comfortably, then you're good and haven't gone over 80%. Not an exact measurement, and I don't recommend this as the sole way to gauge your progress. Just a simple comparison.

I also ran more miles by running to/from places I needed to be (group runs, the Y) and adding a few morning runs (two-a-days). I don't think this is necessary, but I wanted to try it out... I've never been able to surpass 50 miles/week without being injured! Last year I was able to get past that and double it without any issues. Why? I did "other stuff."

Other Stuff
Since I temporarily gave up on triathlons after the Rev3 half, I barely touched my bike last year. All I did was run. I also hit the Y twice a week to lift weights and strength train -- and this is how I stayed uninjured while increasing my mileage. Conveniently, the Y is 2 miles from our house, so I'd run two miles there, lift, and go two miles home. It was nice - the longest I ever ran in one shot was two miles! My typical strength training routine consisted of mostly core and hip flexor strengthening moves, which I designed to be quick enough to complete in 20 minutes or less. (C'mon, I got places to be!!)

• 3 x 15 reps of a circuit of 4 arm exercises with free weights
• Declined bench - 5 sets of core exercises with medicine ball
• 30 lunges with 5-pound weights
• Resistance band exercise around both ankles - walk sideways for 30 paces each side
• Leg press machine - 5 x 15 reps

WINNING (BENEFITS)
The top reasons that the Maffetone Method wins and why YOU should do it too:

1. Your legs won't feel as beat up at the end of runs or at the end of the week. (I used to do 1 or 2 track workouts a week, and legs just felt heavy and tired after 50 or 60 miles!) Your legs will feel.... fresh, leaving you to focus on form (no bad habits with form, no overextending) and make you less likely to be injured.
2. You could then run more miles because you don't feel trashed.
   

   

   Source
   

3. You'll never got sick of running. Usually a a month out from a marathon, after following the training plan and doing all of the workouts, I would just get tired of running and want a break. I never got that feeling like I had to get out the door.
4. IF you do do a track workout, do my reps slower than all-out and still get the same benefit as if you had. For me, the guys who outran me on every rep of a workout probably didn't get any better/faster/stronger than I was while running 3-5 seconds behind them... this means better recovery! Running faster isn't always better. Work smart, not hard!
5. Run with and get to know people you didn't before. It turns out running is way more enjoyable, casual, and social when you're running with the ladies of Team Slow and Steady! (Every run doesn't have to be a race, ya know!)
6. Run with your spouse. Ben and I were able to run together more often, and he stopped saying how it would "hurt" to go as slow as my easy pace. As long as he's not going over 80%, he's still getting aerobic benefit too, and running with me. You can have this too... assuming your significant other runs. ;)
   
   

   

   We ran together!

7. Set some PRs. At the end of races, I quit getting the tired feeling of trying to simply hang on at the end of a race. This type of training gives me a strong all-the-way-through feeling. It's hard to describe and understand until you experience it. Also, I never expected to set PRs... I never really knew how much more efficient I was becoming!
8. I never dreaded a run/workout.
   I get anxious about track workouts, so avoiding them on purpose was a-mazing! No pressure to keep a pace. I didn't feel like I had to hold a certain tempo pace or shoot for a particular finish time, which saved myself the frustration that came with occasionally not meeting a goal for a hard workout. This was huge on the attitude!

Clear as mud?

It's Madness... (It's in my running playlist. I'm obsessed with Muse and this song.)

Are you looking to make a training change? Does this still sound like a whole lotta crazy?