July 2015 Running Challenge
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Back to the surreal world after a fun weekend away. Hottest temperature we experienced was 39+C (> 102F) which melts us west coast lightweights (rarely gets above 30C for long in Vancouver). Fortunately temps cool off overnight so the daily run in the early morning was pleasant as was floating in the pool at our hosts.
Despite all the activity managed to put on a few pounds, some of which probably aren't "real". I blame that ice cream we had on the hottest day because it couldn't have been all the wine. LOL
@Stoshew71 We are related! I'm Marathon Wobblebum.
@melaniefave41 Nice looking trail!
Made my goal for the month, but my real goal is my stretch goal or more. Onward. Or "On on!"+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Month to date: 200.01 km Goal: 200.00 km / 124 miles (100% completed) Stretch Goal: 242.00 km / 150 miles (82% completed) +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Tue Jul 21 10.51 km Back to surreal world lake trail Mon Jul 20 13.35 km Exploring hills and vineyards Sun Jul 19 06.09 km Shorter early morning date run, getting hot! Sat Jul 18 08.26 km Check out river trail in wine country Fri Jul 17 10.56 km Shake off the cobwebs city run Thu Jul 16 09.73 km Mountain trail "run" Wed Jul 15 21.89 km City + river path run Tue Jul 14 ---- Beer, er, Rest Day Mon Jul 13 ---- Rest Day Sun Jul 12 21.29 km Lake trail x2 (61.37 km weekly total, 1,173 meters climbing) Sat Jul 11 06.20 km City streets Fri Jul 10 11.11 km Mountain trail run Thu Jul 09 10.79 km Mountain trail run Wed Jul 08 ----- Rest day Tue Jul 07 11.98 km Mountain trail run Mon Jul 06 ----- Rest day Sun Jul 05 07.66 km Trail run (86.10 km weekly total, 2,209 meters climbing) Sat Jul 04 18.90 km Mountain trail run Fri Jul 03 09.84 km Stanley Park Thu Jul 02 11.93 km Mountain trail run Wed Jul 01 09.99 km River trail run
Loved the detail for hours of operation for a local running shop, Peach City Runners in Penticton BC: "https://instagram.com/p/5aHhiUyfnu/?taken-by=mwyv0 -
@mwyvr I can hold some of a conversation running. I haven't/don't run hard enough very long to be winded. That's just painful. I do still do walk breaks. I'll run the first 1.5-2 miles and walk intermittently every mile-ish. I wonder if I'm not pushing hard enough, or if I should visit with my doc regarding cardiac health or just be patient. My lung capacity is higher than average. My Garmin puts my VO2 max at 38... That's sad, I know. I'm not anemic. And my BP is normal 120/65 ish. 124 lbs at 5'5". Cholesterol is 150-165 ish. Good cholesterol is actually low, but I think that's IBS.
Thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.0 -
Hello again, everyone! I have been absent recently, since my baby girl had to have a surgery. She had an inguinal hernia on each side and was operated on this Monday. I never knew my heart would ache so much
Seeing my 8 weeks old baby coming out of anesthesia was the most nerve wrecking experience I have yet to have. Thankfully, this was done at John Hopkins Hospital, which is the top facility in the country (or maybe in the world?). We are home and doing well, she is all smiles today as we celebrate her being 2 months old!
I know I will receive a lot of kind words from many of you, as this group has been extremely supportive and encouraging. So big thank you in advance.
I was able to run this morning! First run in a long time that my mind and my heart were worry free
7/22 = 5 miles. This was a great run! The weather was just perfect and I my baby was peacefully sleeping in her own bed.
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@mwyvr I can hold some of a conversation running. I haven't/don't run hard enough very long to be winded. That's just painful. I do still do walk breaks. I'll run the first 1.5-2 miles and walk intermittently every mile-ish. I wonder if I'm not pushing hard enough, or if I should visit with my doc regarding cardiac health or just be patient.
@Elise4270 Having a chat with your doc is probably not a bad idea in any case.
Don't worry about "pushing hard". Early on in training we should primarily be focussed on building aerobic capacity and you do that with slower runs at the "conversational" pace, adding distance (time, really) as your capability increases.
How long have you been running / building your capacity?0 -
@Runningmischka aww, your little girl is so cute! Glad to hear she is doing well and you can now run without that overburden of stress caused by worry.
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Quick 1.5 mile sprint yesterday... still planning on another 8 miles this week. 2 mile run tomorrow, and a 6 mile run on Saturday.
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@mwyvr I can hold some of a conversation running. I haven't/don't run hard enough very long to be winded. That's just painful. I do still do walk breaks. I'll run the first 1.5-2 miles and walk intermittently every mile-ish. I wonder if I'm not pushing hard enough, or if I should visit with my doc regarding cardiac health or just be patient.
@Elise4270 Having a chat with your doc is probably not a bad idea in any case.
Don't worry about "pushing hard". Early on in training we should primarily be focussed on building aerobic capacity and you do that with slower runs at the "conversational" pace, adding distance (time, really) as your capability increases.
How long have you been running / building your capacity?
Off and on the last 5 years. I've been at it consistantly 13 months. Last 4 on this challenge. I've also been trying to get over some chronic pain (SI joint). Pain has been running tolerable the last 2 months. So I feel like I'm really just getting started.0 -
Ran 5.04 miles this morning before work.
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5BeautifulDays wrote: »
Does anyone run without eating beforehand? I normally have a scoop of protein powder in my coffee, but I'm running so early that I'm not sure I'll want anything.
I used to only drink coffee before a run. I have now got in the habit to try and eat like a banana before hand. For the past month, I also mixed a scoop of BCAA powder into some water 15-30 minutes before each run.
There is however a philosophy of not eating something before a run that is supposed to encourage you to burn fat for fuel and encourage your body to make those adaptions. The philosophy is known as "glycogen deficit workout" or "training low racing high". I started eating something before workouts because there is a diminished returns on continuing to run in a fasted state. I noticed a pretty significant difference especially in my long runs when I have something beforehand and refueling during my run.
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5BeautifulDays wrote: »
Does anyone run without eating beforehand? I normally have a scoop of protein powder in my coffee, but I'm running so early that I'm not sure I'll want anything.
I used to only drink coffee before a run. I have now got in the habit to try and eat like a banana before hand. For the past month, I also mixed a scoop of BCAA powder into some water 15-30 minutes before each run.
There is however a philosophy of not eating something before a run that is supposed to encourage you to burn fat for fuel and encourage your body to make those adaptions. The philosophy is known as "glycogen deficit workout" or "training low racing high". I started eating something before workouts because there is a diminished returns on continuing to run in a fasted state. I noticed a pretty significant difference especially in my long runs when I have something beforehand and refueling during my run.
I should have written "glycogen depleted workouts" instead of "glycogen deficient workouts". The search in google becomes more appropriate that way.
In other words, when you start running in an already glycogen depleted (or fasted) state, it forces your body to rely even more on fat storage for fuel. If you sleep all night, your blood sugar is going to be maintained a lot by tapping into your glycogen stores. And if you take off running without eating, you're going to be even more dependent. Your body prefers to maintain blood glucose levels using carbohydrates (either eaten or using what is stored via glycogen) because the process to break it down and use it as fuel is relatively simple. Plus glucose is the only thing that can be used anaerobically. Your body will however make the transistion to rely more on fatty acids for fuel if it senses that gycogen stores are being depleted (you only have a limited amount of glycogen stores in your muscles and liver). But the process to convert fat to fuel is more complicated than glucose to fuel. So it takes more time for the process to be completed. Which means you have to decrease intensity (or pace) of your workout. However, by forcing your body to run this way, your body learns to manufacturer more enzymes that will support the fat to fuel process and it also encourages your body to produce more glycogen so you have a bigger glycogen tank.
Here is a link that helps.
http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/cience-of-bonking-and-glycogen-depletion/
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@runningmischka - so happy to hear Anya came through surgery with no issues. There is nothing worse in the world then watching our babies go into surgery.
@mwyvr LOL sounds like me explaining what hours I'm working this week to my boss.0 -
@mwyvr I can hold some of a conversation running. I haven't/don't run hard enough very long to be winded. That's just painful. I do still do walk breaks. I'll run the first 1.5-2 miles and walk intermittently every mile-ish. I wonder if I'm not pushing hard enough, or if I should visit with my doc regarding cardiac health or just be patient.
@Elise4270 Having a chat with your doc is probably not a bad idea in any case.
Don't worry about "pushing hard". Early on in training we should primarily be focussed on building aerobic capacity and you do that with slower runs at the "conversational" pace, adding distance (time, really) as your capability increases.
How long have you been running / building your capacity?
Off and on the last 5 years. I've been at it consistantly 13 months. Last 4 on this challenge. I've also been trying to get over some chronic pain (SI joint). Pain has been running tolerable the last 2 months. So I feel like I'm really just getting started.
I can't give you a reason why you are running sluggish after 2 miles or justify whether or not you are "pushing hard" enough or not. However I can offer up to you the science on how your body works and maybe pin point some guesses.
First off, as mwyvr has already suggested, getting with your doctor would not hurt any to verify your cardiac system is healthy.
So if you are running at a conversational pace, this suggests to me you're running well below your lacate threshold.
If you were running exactly at your lacatate threshold, you should be able to sustain that pace for about an hour. Lactate threshold should map somewhere between 80-90% of your max HR.
So making sure you run most of your runs below that will ensure you will not fatigue early due to lactate related acid issues. Your conversational pace should equate somewhere about 60-65% of your max HR.
So the improvements that you make when you run at this Easy pace (60-65% of your max HR):
Your heart is getting stronger. At this heart rate (60-65% of max), your blood stroke volume (the amount of blood being pushed with each beat) is at it's maximum. So you are stressing your heart enough to force it to make these adaptions. Which means, in time if you continue to run at this pace, the heart should be able to pump more blood per beat.
Also, your body will be forced to try and carry more oxygen in your blood. It does this by creating more hemoglobin and more red blood cells.
Your muscles will be forced to try and use more oxygen. It does this by creating more mitochrondria, and the existing mitochrondria will grow larger and closer to the cell edge where it is closer to the blood.
Your body also will create more capillaries (the tiniest blood vessels that are actually closest to your muscle cells).
There is another factor that also needs to be addressed. Nutrition. For example, in order for your body to create more red blood cells and hemoglobin, your body needs iron. Is your body getting enough iron? For mitochrondria growth, the following nutrients are cited that promote growth: Magnesium, Zinc and Iron, Manganese, Carnosine, Carnitine, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), Resveratrol, and Alpha-lipoic acid. So, this just emphasizes more importance of a balanced healthy diet. Something to ask about with a doctor or sports nutritionist if you feel you need to be more focused here.
So I mentioned that your lactate threshold pace. A runner should be able to race for an hour exactly at their LT.
So if takes you close to an hour to run your first 2 miles, then LT could be a factor.
Your lactate threshold is heavily influenced by your body's ability to delivery enough oxygen to your working muscles that need it. What I covered above. The more oxygen being carried to your muscles and being used by your muscles, the less lactate and hdryogen ions being generated. This increases your pace necessary to reach your LT. That means you should be able to cover more miles in that hour without being winded. Your body also has a way of clearing this lactate and hydrogen ions. The better your body is able to do that, the better your LT pace it.
The way you can improve your lactate clearing abilities is to do what is known as a tempo workout. You should only do 1 tempo workout (2 at most) in addition to your long run per week.
The other thing you have to factor in is heat and humidity. Both effect your heart rate and perceived effort. Any temperature above the 40-60 degF range will increase your perceived effort significantly. Humidity prevents your sweat from evaporating and will increase your heart rate. Humidity also lowers the oxygen volume which reduces the amount of oxygen you are breathing in. Altitude also can effect the amount of oxygen you breath in. The higher elevation from sea level and the less oxygen you breath in.
Re-reading what you wrote that I quoted above and looking at your latest log.... I would blame a combination of the heat and humidity, some of the pains you are suffering, and these things preventing you from sustaining a higher and consistent overall weekly mileage.
Suggestions: The weather you can't control, so just realize you may have to run even slower when it's hot and humid out. Drink plenty of water. Carry water with you or preplace water on your route if you have to.
Make sure you are healed up pretty well. Get that chronic pain under control. Then just keep at it consistently and if you can slowly increase your weekly miles before your worry about intensity (or pace).
Make sure nutrition is in check. Get enough lean protein, healthy carbs and healthy fats in. Leafy vegatables and plenty of fresh fruits. Fish and lean chicken breast are awesome ways to get protein in. Fish (like salmon and talapia) also not only a great lean protein source but a great source of Omega-3 healthy fat as well as iron. Avacados are awesome for healthy fat. Cocunut water is what I call God's Gatorade. Great to replentish those electrolytes you lose through sweat.
Just some ideas that I hope helps. Not only you but anyone else who may read this and have similar questions.
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34 minutes today. I have found that I can get my leg to not hurt if I run(wog??) at a very slow pace. I would rather do that than not run at all I suppose. Hopefully I can get a strong aerobic base doing that.
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skippygirlsmom wrote: »
@kristinegift great job on the bike yesterday. I have a nice "pleasure riding" bike but I let Skip's friend borrow it and the two of them managed to run into each other knocking my chain off and popping her tire. I can't for the life of me figure out how the chain got where it is or fix it. I'm going to have to take it somewhere. I can fix her tire, but her punishment is not having it fixed until I get mine fixed. Mean mommy!
That sounds like a fair punishment to me! Hope you can get it fixed soon so both of you can get back riding! 0 -
July goal 40 miles
completed 35. mixed it up today instead of jogging on the track did a mix of incline marching,jogging and sprinting for 1.5 miles on treadmill
new total 36.5...only 3.5 to go. i should beat my goal by a fair margin.0 -
The way you can improve your lactate clearing abilities is to do what is known as a tempo workout. You should only do 1 tempo workout (2 at most) in addition to your long run per week.
Excellent post, @Stoshew71!
A question for you...I've read about the benefits of doing tempo runs and what they accomplish. Some of the articles I've read say you should only do this after you've built up your base...4-6 months is a range I often see.
What is your take on that? When should a new runner start incorporating a tempo run into their training?
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The way you can improve your lactate clearing abilities is to do what is known as a tempo workout. You should only do 1 tempo workout (2 at most) in addition to your long run per week.
Excellent post, @Stoshew71!
A question for you...I've read about the benefits of doing tempo runs and what they accomplish. Some of the articles I've read say you should only do this after you've built up your base...4-6 months is a range I often see.
What is your take on that? When should a new runner start incorporating a tempo run into their training?
It depends. The most basic tempo run is a 20-30 minute at LT pace with a 20-30 minute warm-up before and a 20-30 minute cool down.
With that said, this runner would need to be able to run 60-90 minutes non-stop. Unless you can sustain that, you should continue to try and build up your aerobic base. You could even cheat with 10 min w/u and c/d's with some additional walking before and afterwards. But that still means being able to run 40 minutes non-stop with the easy paces feeling "easy" and the tempo pace feeling "comfortably hard".
Something a runner can do if they are not ready for a tempo run is fartleks (Swedish for "speed play"). These are random unorganized quicker runs embedded with your steady easy paced run.
Run for 10-20 minutes easy, then start picking random landmarks up ahead of you and run quicker towards them then slow back down to catch your breath and repeat. The quicker pace is what ever the runner feels like doing. The distance is also whatever the runner feels he or she can sustain, and the runner can repeat it however many times they think they can go for. So example... I am running along my normal run and after 10 minutes I see a lamp post or mailbox up ahead, I decide to run up to it at a quicker than normal pace. Once I reach it, I slow back down until I feel easy again, then pick something else....0 -
My training plan calls for 159...
7/02/15 - 3 miles
7/04/15 - 7 miles
7/05/15 - 6.32
7/06/15 - 7 miles
7/08/15 - 7 miles
7/10/15 - 8.06 miles
7/11/15 - 3 miles
7/12/15 - 11.03 miles
7/13/15 - 5 miles
7/14/15 - 5.5 miles
7/15/15 - 5.58 miles
7/16/15 - 6 miles
7/18/15 - 6 miles
7/19/15 - 7 miles
7/20/15 - 6 miles
7/21/15 - 8.26 miles
7/22/15 - 5.5 miles
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@ddmom0811 I'm glad you like the beans! I have some with caffeine for morning runs, so I can skip the coffee
What kind of temps are you running your long runs? I am set on getting disciplined for some early morning runs, catch the temps in the upper 70's. My longest run was just under 9, but it was 62° when I set out for it.
The past 3 weeks when I did my long run I was in NY or DC area and the temps in the morning were in the 60s. It was AMAZING! But now that I'm back home in FL it is already around 77 with what feels like 100% humidity at 6:00am. It was quite difficult and that's why I just took it slow. Hopefully the weather in NY will be much colder than FL on Oct 4 when I run the HM!
@Runningmischka - oh my goodness, so scary. So glad that she is okay now. You are amazing running with a two month old!0 -
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