Review; Furman Institute of Running & Scientific Training (FIRST) HM plan

This is the not the first review (no pun intended) of a FIRST plan, I wrote about my experiences and success using the 10k plan in February last year and up until July this year my 5k PR from November 2008 was attained by poaching a lot of the interval workouts from the FIRST marathon plan.

At the risk of not reinventing the wheel a lot of what I have written here I have talked about before but for some readers this will be new. 

The FIRST Plans are captured in the Runner’s World Book Run Less Run Faster. So as a reminder the basics of the plan are three runs a week; Intervals, a short Tempo and long Tempo run, interspersed with cross training for which I used cycling I also threw in a smattering of core work and some comfortably paced recovery runs

The basic science behind the plan is that the volume of running is decreased but the intensity of the runs is increased. Each run is designed to improve vo2Max; the measure of an athlete’s ability to produce energy aerobically; through the use of oxygen. Increasing Lactate Threshold; Lactate is an organic byproduct of anaerobic metabolism; an improvement in the LT is an improvement in the muscles ability to do endurance work. Finally an improvement in running economy is expected, running economy is expressed either as a velocity achieved for a given rate of oxygen consumption or the vo2 needed to maintain a given speed. Improvement in running economy generally takes the longest period of time for measurable improvement.

As you can already see this is different from you typical plan which tends to have a long(ish) slow run at the weekend, comparatively all of these runs are fast. So the first question is how fast, well there are a lot of tables, each run is based on a different pace and the pace is derived from a recent 5k race time. I initially used my existing 5k race time and then with a month to go before race day I used my new PR which was 30 seconds faster at 19:11. I made a couple of substantial modifications; I cut the plan short by 5 weeks  from 18 to 13 to coincide with Race Day and changed two runs at the end to simulate race pace.

So lets look at some results:

 Week 1 Day 1 400m intervals

Week 13 Day1 400m intervals the last week)

That’s a decrease of somewhere between 10-17 seconds per 400 meters or 40-68 seconds per mile. Here are some stats from the Short Tempo runs:

 Week 1 Day 3 2 mile warm up 3 miles at tempo 1 mile cool down

Week 10 Day 3 1 mile warm up 5 miles at tempo 1 mile warm down

Less than a minute and a little over a mile longer, some things to note in the data, ‘cos a I nerd like that. Heart Rate is consistent but look at the cadence, significantly faster turnover. And the final result, Race Day:

Went out too fast and kinda lost it in the last three miles but hung onto the end! Now all the quantitative data let’s talk about the qualitative:

Pro’s

• Good for people who like a very structured training plan
• It’s ultimately not super high mileage even with additional runs I maxed at 49 miles in a week, most weeks were late 30s early 40s
• It’s very rewarding, speed work, in my opinion, is instant gratification
• You really can measure your improvements and progress
• It works…kinda obvious really but the results do speak for themselves
• With only three prescribed runs a week you have some flexibility although they recommend a day in between each runs
• Speed opens you up to injury although sensible cross training helps mitigate the risks

Cons

• It’s not easy be prepared to work hard
• It’s probably not a plan for someone who complete rather than compete
• It’s very structured, each run has a specific goal, pace distance etc
• You have to be a bit of  a data junkie
• While not essential investing in a Garmin really helps
• You need to have a pretty solid base for the HM plan, don’t expect to jump in deep out of the gate
• It can get a bit boring, essentially each week is the same

So there you have it…I have to say I am very pleased with the results, I reduced my Half Marathon from 1:37:32 to 1:28:41…that’s a big drop for a 13 week investment! My 10k was reduced by over 3 minutes last year, I took 30 seconds off my 5k time and it looks like I will be making a dent in my Marathon PR next month!

If you are looking for some more info you can hear Bill Pierce one of the authors of the book being interviewed on the Run Run Live Podcast here and a follow up interview on the same Podcast with yours truly as a case study talking about my results here.

Now with all of that being said I do believe that this plan was only one leg of a three legged stool, the second being my transition to midfoot striking and the third being my shift into Newton shoes…more on those to follow.

Just to qualify…

A couple of people emailed me about my last post, which was nice seeing as I have been such a crappy blogger (writer and commenter) this year I wasn’t sure anyone read it anymore! Anyway they wanted me to qualify my comment about times.

I wrote a couple of conflicting statements;

“My plan actually called for Marathon pace +30 which gave me a target of 7:39…” indicating my pace would be 7:09

and

… “when I “need” to average 7:23…oh well in two weeks I get to do it all again!”

The truth is that yes according to my 5k time of 19:11 the FIRST plan establishes a pace of 7:09 and predicts a marathon time of 3:07, to be honest that scares the bejesus out of me! That being said a 7:23 pace would give my a finishing time of 3:14, enough to make  the qualifying time of 3:15 for Boston by 1 minute. Under the new rules that does not guarantee me an entry as it is now fastest come first served:

To be honest running Boston was never on my radar although I can see the appeal. For me qualifying for the New York Marathon, which I did in August at this race (running a sub1:30 Half Marathon guarantees me a Masters entry)

and Boston in the same year has the cache. Now as to whether I run them in 2012 and 2013 we will have to see…I have some other fish to fry before then.

Half Marathon of the Harbors

I’ll keep this short as I have written a lot in recent months about my training…well when I have written! That being said I will say my training has gone very well and even with 10 days in London, (did I mention I went to London), with the exception of a cutting 4 weeks out of the plan for it to coincide with Race Day and adding a 5k race to rebaseline my paces I have hit every run on the training plan head on. Four the five weeks prior to my vacation I upped my training volume to include cycling and more recovery runs to increase the mileage to the mid to high 40’s, during the vacation week and the week after I scaled back and focused on the three training runs only and getting to bed early enough to overcome the jet lag.

Additionally I threw in two simulated training runs, did a course recce (although that would prove to be geographically embarrassing), lost 21lbs even with a vacation and practiced my hydration and nutrition plan which was zero input; no gels, no drink although I took a cup of water to cool off around mile 10. So while there are never any guarantees and while I stood on the start line a nervous panda I had put ticks in all the boxes I owned. The one that I couldn’t control and was of major concern was the weather; a late heatwave has gripped the local area and temperatures where pretty high; the thermometer in my car hit 118f on Saturday and the forecasts where for it to continue, the only saving grace was the race start was at 7:00am!

So Sunday morning I stood one row back from the starting line and with a 3, 2, 1, go we went! Obviously I went out too fast! but I found my stride and focused on running my race and racing the clock rather then racing anyone else. To be honest that was way of the race, there was some cat and mousing with other runners on course but I had set my Garmin with a pace alert range of 6:40-6:55, I needed 6:52 to hit the target time of sub 1:30. The sun proved to not be as big an issue as the route I had recced soon deviated through a residential street and so I enjoyed the long shadows cast by apartment buildings etc.

I knew that come mile 10 I was on borrowed time and that proved true as my pace tailed off as you can see from the splits below, miles 10, 11 and 12 were long well at least 7-15 seconds too long but by then I had just enough in the reserve tank to carry me through

A re-focussed effort for the last mile and when turned the last corner I could see the Finish, as I neared I saw the clock had 1:2x but someone’s head obscured the third digit and in the closing meters I saw 1:28:41 and that was that...done!

Final details: 1:28:41 OA 19/440 AG 5/51 File me under Happy Panda.

First half: 44:01 second half 44:40 no negative split thrown by slowing off in miles 10, 11 and 12 from being 33 seconds off pace…numbers junkie, yeah you bet!

Beyond my results this was a great local race, low key and relaxed but well organized, a regularly updated website and emails as the event neared, the results were posted overnight. The course was great with some great beach views, mile markers and ample well stocked and supported aid stations…seems simple enough but these thing are easily and often overlooked!

I will be writing up more extensively on the training plan and on my transition to mid foot running in Newton shoes which I am sure contributed to this result.

Here endeth the week…

Well actually it did yesterday! I finished out Week 1 of training…Shut the Front Door you say! Yeah training it’s been happening. Back on the FIRST training plan, I have had good results using the Interval sets and the full 10k plan I figured why not, right! It’s an 18 week plan that I will of course shorten…I can’t train for 18 weeks it’s too long and I switch off around week 14! I only have 12 weeks anyway to my target race. The Half Marathon of the Harbors, it’s a pancake flat HM it’s my shot at a sub 1:30! So Week 1 was interesting, if you’re familiar with the FIRST plan it is three structured runs, Intervals, Short Tempo and Long tempo, plus some cross training. I managed to hit all my marks:

Tuesday 2 x 1m w/u 12 x 400m with 400m RI 1m c/d (I was hitting the quarters around 1:40)

Thursday 2 x 1m at easy pace (8:40) 3 x 1m at 7:40 1 m c/d although I forgot my turn around and added an extra three mile

Sunday 1m w/u 8m at HM pace +20 seconds (7:13) 1 m c/d (really pleased with this as they were all around the right mark or faster)

I threw in another run on the local trail, two bike rides and had a day off and finished the week with pretty fair numbers:

It’s basically an 70 minutes of training a day and a bit of time spent loving my foam roller…nothing to set the world alight but consistency is key. If you really want to follow the nitty gritty hit me up on Daily Mile So starts Week 2…

‘tis the Season of giving

This week I was contacted by the folks at 13.1 Marathon to introduce their race to me and ask if I would be interested in running it? This is a series of 13.1 mile races, similar to the Rock’N’Roll series, from the producers of the ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon®, ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon®, and the Chicago Half Marathon and 5K.

I thought about it and consulted my plan…I am a stickler (sometimes to my own detriment) for sticking to the plan. That weekend; January 10th, it called for a 10 miler so after some consultation I figured it could be done! Woot! The race is in Venice and starts on the beachpath finishing on Main Street, I know the course and it’s pretty flat…this is obviously of concern to a rufty-tufty ultra runner!

Anyway the other thing the email mentioned was that I could give a free entry away! So here’s the dealio. Leave a comment on this post and I’ll pull a name out of the hat on December 30th and don’t feel obligated to run with me, I am not good company…seriously just ask Billy or Lori!

The voting continues for my place in the Top 10 Endurance Blogs, it seems I went out too fast and peaked too early and have fallen back into the mid pack! That being said it’s still an honor!

Over the next 8 days, your votes will narrow down the list to the top 3. The best part about this voting is it takes one click. No registration, Clickerty click and you’re done.

Like I said ‘tis the season of giving!

Mr Forgetful...

I have a race this weekend, oops! I am off to run the Xterra Boney Mountain 21K (I have no idea why they don't call it a Half Marathon?), anyway, I ran it last year and it's a real doozy! Nearly 4000' feet of climbing, forecast is for warm temps high 60s low 70s.

Plan: sub 2:30, idealy around the 2:17 mark, that will be a minute a mile faster than 2007. Fingers crossed; I nailed Castro Peak and down, (14 miles) which is a higher climb 2200' over 2.5 miles vs. 1250' over 5 miles, in 2:32 last weekend so I should be in pretty good shape!

Talking of plans my Napkin (well, ruled pad) is firming up, I should be confirming it early next week, thanks for all you kind support.

Valley Crest Half Marathon

Six exits on the freeway, that was all the distance I needed to drive to get to the Valley Crest Half Marathon, an entry blank and a clickety click on active.com I am was in. My number arrived in the mail three days later and I was set. Come Sunday morning I set out a little after 7am, I drove the short distance one eye on the road the other on the sun breaking through the clouds, a sign of things to come.

Fifteen minutes later I was there. I parked up not too far from registration and went through my stretching routine, I wandered up to collect my Tshirt and listen to the usual safety brief. The race followed the shape of a “T” up from the bottom, to the right and back, to the left and back and then back down to the bottom. The route follows Mullholland Highway a dirt fireroad that winds its way along the spine of several hills within the Santa Monica range, the trail itself is nothing too technical although there are a few sections that are quite shaley and that can make for hard going.

The start was scheduled for 8am and it was around ten past by the time we set off. The trail took a short sharp uphill for the first half mile climbing two hundred feet; this was followed by a descent over the next three mile of 575’. Given the nature of the route every vertical foot lost was a foot to be made up on the return and this was to set the pattern of things to come. At the three and half mile mark there was a turnaround and I started on the second uphill (the return) to the six and half mile mark. My splits, while nothing remarkable were pretty consistent with the terrain: M1: 8:40 M2: 7:52 M3 7:54 M4 9:06 M5 9:39 and M6 9:50. Halfway through mile 7 another uphill and short down to the second turnaround at the 10 mile mark. I was feeling the heat and this is reflected in my splits M7 10:32 M8 10:11 and M9 12:36,

By this stage the sun was and up and bright, at the second aid station I filled up handhelds with ice and took the opportunity to throw some ice water over myself in an attempt to cool down. The short up lasted a mile and then the trail took another turn downhill for the next two and half miles to the last climb and then the final downhill to the finish. I picked up my pace and enjoyed the gentle cruise downhill M10 9:45 M11 9:48 and a surprisingly quick M12 7:33 it was with half a mile to go that the sun took it’s toll and I felt a cold chill wash over me, tingling in both arms and a numbness in my hands, with discretion being the better part of valor I eased off the pace completely and walked the last mile or so in an attempt to cool down and regain some composure, I have had sunstroke before and although this was not the same it was close. The last mile was covered in a painful 12:33 and the final point one in a minute and change.

I had started the day with the goals of going sub 2:00 and after the first few miles the thought of 1:50 fleetingly crossed my mind, but despite a solid first half my disappointing second half and “fun in the sun” resulted in my finishing time of 2:09:45 (113th/283) a new trail PR even though it wasn't the best of races.

After going through the chute I was handed my medal and went through to pick up some more fluids and cool down. There was the usual melee of runners decompressing and hanging out. I wandered back to my car and stretched again, it was then that I noticed my arms were covered in little blisters, which I assume was from the sun. They have since gone and my arms are now a lovely mess of peeling skin, I did get a little burnt the previous week so I don’t think that the burn was from this race and I had applied some sun screen beforehand but there was clearly something going on from the sun and heat.

On reflection and from my experience in the sun it only goes to reinforce my decision to defer my next 50 miler until the winter (read cooler) months, and after a quick email chat with the RD of Twin Peaks I snagged one of the last five spots for the race in December, it’s actually a deferred event from the beginning of the year due to the forest fires and so it is also being run in February. Without going into too much planning at this stage I now have in my mind a repeat of last winter with PCTR’s Pt Mugu and Calico Ghost Town 50Ks in November and January and the Xterra SoCal series which will start up again in the fall, I'll need to find an October Marathon or will just put in the time on the training runs. As you can see there are plenty of options to work through but hey variety is the spice of life, right!

There are some picture but Blogger is being funky and loading everything sideways! Anyway you can see them here, including the blisters, and here’s the MotionBased data.

The Great Race of Agoura Half Marathon

The Great Race of Agoura is actually a series of races during the morning of, usually, the first Saturday in April. Offering various distances; 5k, 10k, Kids 1 Mile, Family 1 Mile and Half Marathon, there is a huge expo and it has won numerous awards. The first and last three miles of the Half Marathon is run on the streets and the middle seven miles is on some well worn trails through Cheseboro Canyon. I ran the race last year and have run extensively through the park so I am very familiar with the course, there as some photos, non race day here. Going into this race I had two expectations; if I felt good to go for a course PR, if not go sub 2:00. The backstop was just to finish as I would have to walk it home anyway. What was going to be the unknown race morning was how my ITB etc would hold up, as you can probably tell from the preceding post; it didn’t. I’ll spare you the blow by blow account but here are the high and lowlights.

Miles 1 – 3. As mentioned the first three miles are on the road, you start and the top of a short sharp hill and then run a couple of loops around the neighborhood. I arrived with only 10 minutes to spare and had to run to the start line, while it is a chip timed race but there is a lot of single track on the trail section so passing can be tricky and who wants to be at the back anyways? What this did mean was that I had to skip my stretching routine; did this have any real impact at the end of the day? Probably not but I may have been pain free for a little longer. Anyway the first three miles were fine and I was plodding along at a nice steady pace M1 8:22 M2 8:21 M3 8:34.

Miles 4 – 10. Around Mile 4 you enter the park and the trail section. At Mile 5 I felt it, it started as a dull twinge but every bend in the knee amplified it. Miles 5, 6 and 7 were spent trying to ignore it. By mile 8 it was really kicking in and I was trying to ease it with some self massage as I was running, it felt very familiar and while not as bad as it had been I knew exactly what it was. Strangely it was worse on the flat and up or downhill was reasonable comfortable also the terrain is such that you’re often breaking your stride so that eases things as you're mixing up your repetitive motion. The terrain is really quite varied, you go from almost a grazing pasture, through woods then pop out into a dusty desert scene and it's actually a really engaging stretch of trail and you have to concentrate on not face planting, which judging by the gashed knees and dusty clothes several people did. Rain from earlier in the week had left some of the streams with water in and I picked up a set of wet toes at a backed up stream crossing, I confess to smiling as exited the bank and from behind me heard a splash and the cry of "my new shoes" from someone...whoops! From Mile 2 through Mile 8 you’re climbing, it’s quite imperceptible until the end where it’s quite a steep incline; from here you have a nice two mile stretch of down hill on a fire road so you can open up the throttle and in my case make up some time. M4 9:17 M5 9:11 M6 9:53 M7 10:08 M8 11:18 M9 8:00 M10 8:06 Having long legs really helps on the way down, running fast downhill is something that needs practice and can be a little worrying for some but for me it was pain free and fun.

Miles 11 – finish. Once you bottom out there was a few squiggly bits and then a sharp right hand turn and quick uphill section. There were a lot of people walking, the sun had broken through the clouds and it was warming up, I downshifted into my patented uphill shuffle, faster than a walk and slower than a run and made it to the top, from here there's about 100 yards or so and you are dumped onto the road. By now I knew I would finish and I also knew that there was a large section of flat from Mile 12 onwards and then an up and down. I fixed my sights on a group of runners ahead and made out to catch them up. It was about here that I started going backwards; at least that was how it felt. I was passed by many runners that I had previously passed on the downhill stretch and I was in full teeth gritted and determined mode, my knee/ITB felt like someone was jabbing me with a broken bottle with every step. I rounded the third from last bend, a short uphill and basically limped up, I heard my name being called and looked over to see my wife with our boys cheering me on. Never underestimate the boost of family in the closing miles. The last half mile or so was downhill and as I made the last turn I could see the clock counting 1:59:36 I amazed myself and pulled out a sprint finish crossing the line in 1:59:54. I walked through the chute, was "medaled", with rather a nice piece of hardware and had my chip cut off; I found a very appealing piece of grass and sat on it! My last splits: M11 9:11 M12 8:24 M13 8:47 and the last 0.17 (according to my Forerunner) was 1:07 with a top speed of 12.5 mph!

Post race. My chip time was 1:58:54, a bit quicker than the gun but that’s usual, I was 334/1266 overall and 41/121 in my age group, so all thing considered a pretty good showing. I could have run faster had I been injury free and would have probably got a course PR (sub 1:49:31) but hey there’s always next year. Now a day or so later and my gimpyness has gone. I spent the rest of Saturday with a neoprene sleeve on my knee to keep it supported and warm. Looking back despite the pain I am glad I ran (and finished) the race, it’s a real early alarm for what I can expect in two weeks and I have to decide what to do. Three weeks of no running with lots of stretching and foam rollering has helped but it’s not cured the issue, my cycling has helped maintain my CV fitness, my HRM peaked at 182 but I averaged at 165 which for me is Zone 4 (149-167) and for race day that’s fine. Put me in Zone 3 (131-148) and I can go all day. I am going to go back over my training logs and try and identify any patterns that can be followed or avoided for the next training cycle and spend the next week self-rehabing with a view to making a decision next weekend about Leona Divide.

Here’s the MotionBased data:

An hour later I ran the family mile with our 3 year old, I actually thought that it was going to be a quarter mile, so I was rather pleased, shall we say, to discover its true length, anyway it was a slow pace, thank you! followed but a bit of shoulder work and then a sprint finish at which point the batteries went on the camera, so no pictures of the father and son team. There were plenty of photographers on the course so there should be at least one picture of me somewhere if not well like I say there's always next year.

Shhh don’t tell…

Robin, Doug, Audrey or Zanne or the several others who are suffering from early season injuries, but I’ve been running.

I didn’t make it out Tuesday night but got runs in on both Wednesday and this morning, nothing fantastic in either distance or pace but they were all pain free and once the cobwebs were blown away things were bedding in quite nicely. All three runs were on the treadmill so it’s not really a fair representation of what’s going to happen once I get outside let alone on the trails but it’s nice to get the legs turning over. I am of course I am over listening but things seem to be pretty good. My glutes and TFLs are a little tight but some stretching and rolling should work that out. Here are the highlights, interesting to note that my running cadence is pretty close to my cycling one, coincidence...maybe?

Tomorrow I am on the bike and then Saturday I have the Great Race half marathon and the family run with my eldest, I think it's a quarter mile so I should beat him (j/k). It's his first fun run, he was sick for the last one and he's super excited, he has his running outfit and shoes and everything is "all special". I actually thought it was the next day and had I not got a reminder email it would have been a very lonely Sunday morning! I picked up my race packet today and got a nice bag thing and the usual shirt although this was a technical one, but wait a minute, black c'mon this is southern California, black shirt, are you kidding me, have you never heard of reflection! Anyway I was able to replace last years shirt (in white!) which got a lovely tear in it from a thorn bush sometime during the last 12 months.

Distance wise it’ll be a bit of a jump from two weeks of nothing to a bit of running this week, oh well, in for a penny as they say.

That was the week that wasn't...but was cool anyway!

This week has been a training write off, with the departure of the in-laws (I should qualify after several nominations for sainthood that they didn’t actually stay 6 months in one block, it was two 3 month visits with two weeks off for Christmas and 3 weeks where they went to Canada, Mexico and New Mexico for a week each) so it really was cool and everyone can hold off on those halos!

With spring break upon us there was a shift in the my role as part time SAHD, part time Business Consultant, part time full time job hunter (anyone need a Project Manager/Business Analyst?), the end result; no running, in fact no anything! Tuesday through Friday was spent at the swimming pool, local train museum; (what 3 year old boy doesn’t like trains?), LA's Natural History Museum (ditto dinosaurs!) and the Zoo (and a big tiger and lima (Zaboomafoo) fan as well), a large proportion of spent with eldest on my shoulders and youngest in the stroller! Anyone who has been to the LA Zoo will know that it is built at the bottom of a hill with the exhibits placed on the slopes…deep joy! But it has to be said that quality time with the boys is great and I am privileged to have it.

I did manage to stretch and foam roll the culprit IT bands several times and they are definitely loosening up. So in an attempt to start the week of with a bang, I headed out on the bike this morning. I had a little extra time in my back pocket and the plan was to tack on a loop to my existing ride and break through the 50 mile mark. The weather of course was forecast not to co-operate and I had to consider the possibility of a shower and as DCRainmaker, who was competing in the California Half Ironman experienced it was a windy day, although I am not sure why he is complaining about hills, (j/k), he did kick my butt timewise and way to go for a new PR. Anyway I added on the extra loop and spent just under four hours in the saddle for a total of just over 55 miles, 5500’ feet of climbing and an average speed of 13.9.

Here's the Motion Based data:

And there are some bad photos here.

I'll be lacing them up this week so my bike mileage will decrease as such, next Sunday I have the modestly named Great Race of Agoura half marathon, that will signal the start of my taper for Leona Divide which is 20 days away!

I am starting to think about what's next and have a couple of ideas, this is one (to be done solo) and here's another (the "Full"), you know me, I am not one to do things by half!

Here's a teaser for the upcoming sock post!






Are you?

XTerra Trail Series: Boney Mountain Half Marathon

Clear blues skies promised warm temperatures as I parked my car at the designated parking, collected my race number and T-shirt and waited in line for the shuttle bus to the start area. Despite the temperature in the car saying 48f forecasts were expecting a high of 70f. The Boney Mountain Half Marathon had been rescheduled for today due the wildfires of last year. Ironically the week prior we had experienced a weekend of rain and now it was expected to be a wet course.

Over 400 runners congregated at the start area, however not all were running the half marathon as there was also a scheduled 6k race as well. The pre-race briefer advised us of the aid station locations and told us that there were some wet patches and “river crossings”, but not to worry as they were not waist deep, carrying water was the order of the day especially given the change in elevation we were going to expect; more about that later.

I was “race-testing” my Nathan Race Vest and had donned my Dirty Girl Gaiters so combined with UD handheld bottles, I at least looked the part! I have to say I am amazed when I see people running in basketball shoes and a wife-beater, but you see them at every event.

We meandered over to the start line and I switched on my Nike+, there was an iPod ban, so I had no headphones, it actually froze at 5.5 miles and stopped recording. My Garmin chirped into life, there was the usual ceremonial countdown and we were off.

The first two miles or so were a shaded paved road that wound its way down to the bottom of the canyon, oh good; this of course means that there is only one way to go: up! I was keeping a steady pace and really still warming up and was surprised at the number of people charging through. At the one mile mark we turned off the road and onto a single track trail. Here runners bunched and flowed trying to politely overtake while keeping a solid footing and avoiding the deeper mud that was at the side of the trail. From mile 2 through 4 we broke into the sun and started to climb (you can see them zig zagging up the hill in the photo), not wanting to burn out too early I power walked as best I could up, overtaking a few walkers and to my surprise one or two runners. We topped off the second climb at around 1000’ and started on the mile and a half and 700’ drop down.

Single track was the order of the day and the path wound its way down to the canyon floor, the several “rivers-crossings” we had been warned about proved to be streams with stepping stones but I still saw some people charge through the water, can you say blister! We popped out onto a level fire road for a brief respite and past an aid station; the quiet before the storm. A little way later we were back onto single track. I felt the cool emanating from the stream that ran alongside and it was here that we had a few smaller stepping stone river crossings. The path was gently angling uphill and lulling us into a false sense of security, rounding a bend it took a sharp steep uphill and continued with minor variation for the next 5 miles. Most of this section was walked and not by just me; it was a tough section and combined with the fact that I was partially conserving myself for next weeks 50k and didn’t want to do anything silly walking seemed the best option. By this time we had broken through into a sun drenched path that switched back and forth up the side of the hill, the heat was a little worrying as my running habits have shifted to running well into the evening when I have no concerns about the heat and sun, April can be a warm month here and I hope that I get a chance to re-acclimate myself to the heat between now and then.

Halfway up we were treated to a short section of downhill and while my calves took a rest it was time for my quads to start screaming, this was short-lived and only lasted a third of mile before we started on the uphill again. We finally topped out at the ten mile mark at 1830’, a 1500’ climb and about an 1800’ elevation gain. Here's the view. From this point it was downhill, all the way, well except the last hill and the little bit of flat by the finish. The last three miles didn’t quite fly by but I did manage to make up some ground and overtake a few runners in the last mile or so.

While this was never a “race” and was more of an opportunity to try out some new kit and also to get some “trail-time”, I did have the target time of 2:30 in the back of head. Clearly not a fast pace but one, given the terrain, that would allow me to sense check with some certainty (hah, famous last words I know) my target time of 6 hours for next week, which has the same elevation gain but it obviously a lot longer. I saw the countdown on the timer board at 2:30:45 and my Garmin Moving Time was 2:28:29 which allows for the stopped time at the aid stations which was minimal but also the time I stopped to take some photos etc so I was pretty much on target.

So in summary; a tough race that answered some questions

Kit wise: the Gaiters were great and kept out all the usual trail debris that finds its way into your shoes. The Nathan vest was also great however I have discovered that it “flaps” with my camera in the pocket, so I need to get a smaller, lighter camera or find another way of carrying it. I was again running with Perpetuem which kept me going nicely and I supplemented it with water from the aid stations, I consumed over 24oz (a bottle and a half) and took two gels (at 45 minutes and 1:40) I could/should have had a third at the 2:15 mark and given the heat I should have had my SaltStick tablets. Oh yes and much as I love my hat I should have worn a visor!

Condition wise: I hadn’t quite shaken off the cold/cough that has been with me since the beginning of the year and I could hear and feel my chest rattle on the tougher sections, hopefully this will be fully gone by next weekend. My running was ok; my pace was over a minute faster than the Pt Mugu 50k which was a tough run but was two minutes slower than the Pt Mugu 18k (11 miles) which by comparison was not as nearly as tough, was three miles shorter and had over 1000’ less elevation gain. I need to work on my hill climbing and get some more time on the trails. I start running double long runs at the weekend at the beginning of February one of which will be a trail. Running my hill intervals seems to be working somewhat, I just need to do more of them and find a longer hill, they only give me a elevation gain of 300’ over 0.6 of a mile and running down in between is not giving me the sustained hill climb that I need. Oh well nothing like a challenge

Here is the MotionBased data: XTerra Boney Mountain Half Marathon

As Maverick said to Goose...

So it rained here yesterday…a lot. The are two fundamental problems with rain in Southern California; the first is that the roads have little or no drainage so the water tends to sit in large puddles by the side of the road; where I run and the second is that the typical LA driver who is typing on their Blackberry, while sipping on a decaf chai skimmed extra hot with no foam latte, while tuning in the GPS, shouting at the kids in the back and not actually being able to see anything that is less than 7’ tall in their ‘lifted’ Escalade, likes to go into a complete state of panic when it rains. I am really not sure if this is because they seriously do not know how to drive in the wet or it’s because their car is getting dirty after spending $150 having it detailed...it's probably both!

Anyway what this meant was I was relegated to the treadmill. No problem thought I, my schedule called for 7 miles so it was going to be around an hour. I stretched and strapped on the usual gizmos; Garmin 305 and footpod and iPod/Nike+ and got going. Now during the last 5 months I have noticed that my pace has gotten slower and despite my gizmos I guess it had just not sunk in how slow I had actually become, it wasn’t until I glanced down at the dashboard that I realized I was plodding along at around a 9:30 mile! This is terrible I thought to myself, I increased the speed to 7mph or an 8:30 mile and to my surprise actually found that I had to work at it. I was shocked. The rest of the run I ran mile intervals between 8:30 and 9:30 with a penultimate mile of 7:41, with some aural support from the The Prodigy, until I had reached the target 7 miles, although my Garmin conked out at the 6.4 mark, I think I have a dicky USB port and it’s not charging it properly.

I checked back through my training log and specifically at the Santa Monica Classic 5k and The Wine Country Half Marathon I ran in May and the San Diego Marathon I ran in June; now while these were obviously at race pace I was shocked to see that the average pace for each of these races was: 6:38, 7:32 and 8:30 respectively and here I was struggling to maintain an 8:30 pace every other mile on a treadmill for only seven miles!

I really have no idea where this drop in pace has come from; maybe it’s the longer distances I am covering, maybe it’s the fact that I never got fast again after my injury or maybe it's something else but one thing is for sure if I want to complete the Leona Divide in under 10 hours I’ll need to work on my speed!

Tomorrow calls for mile intervals which really should be run on a track, the problem is the local High School track is being resurfaced so I think I will run hills instead and see what I can make of it…boy do I have some work to do!

I feel the need! Do you?

Running in Circles!

Ahhh, ok there I got it off my chest! What you may ask, feigning interest, well, pull up a chair, sit down and let me tell you. Races that sell out months in advance. So far this year I have been dinged by; Xterra's Topanga Turkey Trot & Crystal Cove races Santa Barbara 9 Trails, Twin Peaks 50K (although I found out today that this has been canceled due to the wildfires, which have, sadly, ravaged Orange County) and the Surf City Marathon, the latter two are not until next February!

Yes I know the argument is to sign up months in advance along with anyone else, but as I found to my financial expense earlier this year family and injury come way up the list and the thought of churning through more cash on planes unflown, hotels unstayed in and start and finish lines uncrossed is somewhat galling. Added to which I was going through the application for next years Angeles Crest and I will miss the cutoff for the qualifying 50M, so that’s scratched from next years agenda as well! Grrr..ok I am over it!

So here is a penciled in look at what I am planning in the first five months of 2008, trust me this pencil comes fitted with an eraser!

January: XTerra Boney Mountain 21k, Calico Trail 50k

February: Buffalo Run 21k

March: LA Marathon (hard) or Napa Trail Marathon (harder) or Catalina Marathon (hardest)

April: Leona Divide 50m or American River 50m

May: XTerra Malibu Creek 14m

April is my “A” race month for the first half of the year for obvious reasons, the others are only training runs, but it’s good to put some of the mileage in under “race conditions” both physically and mentally.

There's no fire without smoke!

Finally the Santa Ana winds have stopped. This gives firefighters a much deserved break and will allow some cooler air to move inland from the ocean; today’s high was 94F tomorrows forecast is 78F. What remains now is the smoke in the air, the air quality is really quite bad, it is very deceptive because you cannot really see anything, although right now the moon has an orange tinge to it instead that granite white that we usually see, the photo to the left was taken yesterday afternoon and while today's sky was a lot clearer a lot of the particulate matter still remains. I did venture out this morning for an hour and once you start breathing deeply you can actually taste the badness.

You can see that the Air Quality Management District for Southern California rates the air quality for today and Friday as “Unhealthy” and according to their press release today "everyone should avoid all vigorous exertion, indoors or out".

I received the email as promised from the organizers of this weekends race advising us that this weekend event in Boney Mountain has been postponed, I am not really surprised and to be honest I am a little relieved, my recent stomach flu took a little more out of me than I thought and the thought of racing 13.1 miles with an elevation gain in excess of 2500’ was going to be a little challenging. So this weekend I'll confine myself to the treadmill and focus on regaining some of my base that was lost over the last two weeks.

Southern California Wildfires

It may not have escaped you notice that Southern California is currently under siege from over a dozen wildfires. The San Fernando Valley, and in particular the Northern end where I live, is surrounded to the East by the fires in Canyon Country and to the West by the fires in Malibu; home of my grad school alma mater; Pepperdine University. Despite living within a half mile of Victory Trailhead, which has been closed and is an access point into the Santa Monica Mountains, we have be spared any damage, we are however now victims of the resulting smoke. The sky to the East is obliterated with a thick black layer of smoke which turns the sky umber orange as the sun sets. The photo you see here I took from just down our street. Several local schools have been closed due to the high level of air pollution and the smoke is acting as a layer of insulation and is blanketing the heat in, as I write this at 8:30pm the thermometer on our porch reads 89F.

On the subject of air pollution I received an email from the Race Director of this weekend’s half marathon, Number 2 in the Xtrerra SoCal Trail Series at Boney Mountain, giving me a heads-up that they may have to postpone the race until air quality improves, they will make an announcement Thursday at noon. The short term weather forecasts that the Santa Ana winds will die down in the next 24 hours allowing the cooler ocean air to come inland and reduce the temperatures, they are forecasting possible rain at the weekend which will obviously help the firefighters and home owners in the affected and threatened areas. It will remain to be seen how quickly the smoke dissipates. Here's a satellite picture from Monday showing the smoke's footprint along the west coast.

Overall the devastation is hard to comprehend, due to the geological landscaping and the southland’s concerns over earthquakes most houses are built with a timber frame and nearly all are sided in timber, changes to building code that require materials to be used that have a higher fire retardant characteristics are due to come into effect but not until 2008 and 2009; too late for so many. As of writing this there are 18 fires ranging from Santa Barbara south to the Mexican border, San Diego and its surrounding areas are particularly affected, and as far East as Lake Arrowhead, over 800,000 people have been evacuated including mawz76 a fellow Nike+ runner from Fallbrook. Over 1000 homes have been burnt and at the last count the total acreage on fire exceeds 430,000, to put that in perspective a football field (including the in zones) is roughly an acre. Current estimates show at least half a billion dollars in damage and President Bush has declared a state of emergency in California, releasing much needed financial assistance to the state. Wondermom24, again a Nike+ runner is surrounded on three sides in La Mirada and likens the orange atmosphere to something from a sci-fi movie. Jessica in Orange County (OC) and a runner with the OCTR has seen several of her local trails go up in flame. Addy has friends and family in OC and is keeping a nervous eye on the news. There are another two months left in this year's fire season before Winter and we can start to think about the real possibility of rain in any substantial volume or on a regular basis, of course with so much devastation to the vegetation the next concern will be soil erosion and mudslides. The fires are so widespread it is hard to not know someone who has been affected; this part of the world is beautiful in many ways but can be so cruel in others.

My thoughts and best wishes go out to those affected and the brave souls who stand on the fire-line.

"Think Global, Run Local?"

The World Wide Web, and the Internet have drawn people all over the world together, and dissolved barriers to communication and isolation. Runners, are by nature, social creatures who seek to share their experiences on the road, compete with each other, and establish friendships that transcend their individual beliefs, cultures and localities.

The sole purpose of the Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon is to remove the barriers to camaraderie, with the intention that like minded athletes who harbor this passion for running, could share a single experience of competing in a world wide event.

The Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon is a free, non-commercial event where everyone is invited to register, train and run with us in the spirit of friendship.

This unprecedented event is for runners of all abilities. New runners who are just starting out are invited to sign up, train and run a five kilometer event called "Kick the Couch 5k" with new runners all over the world who may never have thought it possible to rise off the couch and experience an active way of life.

Through the WorldWideHalfwebsite you will be able to register for the event (Half Marathon or Five Kilometer races), choose and follow an online training schedule through BuckeyeOutdoors and run your choice of an official road race, or your own personally organized event on or about the weekend of October 13th and 14th.

As you participate, you will feel that you are part of a community of friends all over the globe, who will support you, encourage you, and are sharing this experience with you as you run your event locally.

Join us in this exciting and real global event. We look forward for you to share your piece of the world.

The Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon (13.1 miles / 21.1 Kilometers) and Kick the Couch 5k Race ( 3.1 miles).

So who is Steve Runner and what is Phedippidations?

Steve Runner is a husband, father, engineer, baseball fan and distance runner. He has run ninety-three road races including fifteen marathons.

Phedippidations is a free, weekly Internet Radio PodCast made available for listening during weekend long runs. It is distributed exclusively by PodShow. You can subscribe to it through iTunes, other Podcast aggregators or download it from Steve Runner's website.

Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon

The inaugural Santa Barabara Wine Country Half Marathon. Starting in scenic Santa Ynez, the course passed through the quaint town of Los Olivos before finishing on Copenhagen Drive in the heart of historic Solvang.

Race day, the sun didn’t rise, a grey, flat and decidedly cool (early 50’s Fahrenheit with a slight breeze) sky greeted the 2000 or so runners in sleepy Santa Ynez on Sunday May 13th. I had unfortunately not had the best of warm ups despite getting there early I spent too long in the lines for the porta-potties, so my warm up consisted mainly of jiggling about on the spot; it was cold and I needed to pee, followed by a short ¾ mile run and some stretching. I managed to score a place near the front of the runners and after several cries of “two minutes to go”, we went. Rounding the first turn we were greeted with a series of roller coaster up and downs, at this point I wonder if driving the course the day before would have been a good thing, later on I realize it would have not.

I had set my Garmin Forerunner with an 8min/mile pace alarm, this would give me a 1:45 finish and I am armed with my trusty Goalpace G-Band to allow me to check on my mile splits. I am determined to run my own race as this will provide me with the on-target benchmark for my projected 4:00 for San Diego in June and 3:30 for San Francisco in July (there I have publicly said it). Miles 1 through 4 pass by and my splits are on target: Mile 1: 7:52 / Mile 2: 7:41 / Mile 3: 7:33 / Mile 4: 7:52

This is for a total elevation gain of around 175’. At this point I am about a minute up on time, so far so good, although my right calf is just letting me know its there and my right groin, which I have been fending away from injury with copious amounts of ice, sends me a couple of gentle ‘yoo-hoos” along the way. Mile 4 through 6.5 gave us a few more rollers and as we round the bend we are given a view of the “corkscrew” a series of switchbacks over a quarter mile for a elevation gain of 180’, now my mathematics is pretty poor but I am told that’s a 14.5% grade – I know now why I was glad I had not driven the course the previous day. So onwards and upwards we went, it actually wasn’t that bad, I passed the lone hand-cranker who was turning quite purple; he obviously sailed past me on the way down, reached the top went over to be faced with roughly the same slope going down. Now as everyone runner knows downhill’s are really just as bad as uphill’s, my quads certainly can vouch for that. I remember reading that you should lean down the hill and I can say that this does seem to make things easier. I am bang on with my splits: Mile 5: 7:46 / Mile 6: 7:52 / Mile 7: 8:02

Mile 7 through 11 was downhill all the way dropping 425’, this was in the back country and behind fences either side of the road we were treated to majestic views of horse ranches, fruit orchards, lavender farms and vineyards. At 11.5 we had our last ‘bump’ of 100’ over a quarter mile; I just want to say this is how the course was described on the website “…the first six miles of the course is relatively flat, then after a short hill climb at mile 6 the final 6.5 miles are mostly downhill and fast…”, just so you know why I keep talking about elevation.

There is some truth to the last word though as I picked up some speed: Mile 8: 7:12 / Mile 9: 6:59 / Mile 10: 7:07 and Mile 11: 7:15. The last mile saw us entering Solvang and to cries from the local crowd I rounded the last bend and sprinted over the finish line. Chip off, Medal on, finished; Mile 12: 7:51 Mile 13+.1:7:35.

Some stats; Mile 9 was my quickest mile, and thanks to my technologically quipped body I can tell you that for that mile my heart rate was lower by 1 beat per minute than my average for the race of 163, my max bpm was 183 during the sprint finish (interestingly (or not) this is 2bpm above what the maximum for my age should be 220 – 39 = 181), I also spent 80% of the time in my 80-90% heart rate zone of my max heart rate (181).

Results: I had aimed for a steady 1:45 to project onto next month’s marathon target of 4:00, I actually finished in 1:37:32, 7.5 minutes under my target and giving me a sub 100 minute time – needless to say I am chuffed to bits.

Lessons learned: Run your own race, tempting as it is to be a quick starter this is folly, set your pace in advance and stick to it.

I seem to have my pre and during race nutrition dialed in, this comprises:

•1.5-2 hours before: 10fl oz of ‘Naked’ Superfood, I get whichever one on the shelf has the most carbohydrates, although the green one is a little unsightly in the wee hours mixed with Optimum Nutrition Whey protein powder
•1 hour before: Cliff Builder Bar from the freezer, as it’s frozen it takes longer to chew
•During last hour: 20fl oz bottle of Amino Vital

During the race I rely on what I can carry, I know what I like and I am not a big fan of Gatorade, so in either a Fuel Belt or my Fastdraw Plus I have Accelerade along with CarbBoom gels. I need to be more consistent with my gels and have them earlier than when I feel I need them, currently every 8 miles, probably every 6 will work better.

Finally you can always go a bit faster, I was mentally expecting to be puking on my shoes at the end and wasn’t.

This is the MotionBased map for the race as downloaded from my Garmin Forerunner, I do not know why it only measured it as 12.95, I can only assume that it is because of the "disrupter"; they are never 100% accurate so people cannot reverse engineer the actual sallelite's location.

The Great Race of Augora

March 31st 2007, Augora Hills CA. http://greatraceofagoura.com/

The Great Race of Agoura was established in 1986 by a group of parents looking to raise money for their children's elementary schools. Now professionally produced by Endurance Events and in its 22nd year, The Great Race of Agoura Hills is one of the largest running events in the Los Angeles area and continues to raise money for eight schools of Agoura Hills and Oak Park.

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6:04 am and I am guided in to the parking lot, ‘ping’ the ice alarm on my dashboard lights up; 36 degrees – wait a minute this is Southern California! The sun rises lighting up the sky in a mass of orange and red tiger stripes. It’s 6.30 am and promises not to be too fierce too early today’s high was forecasted at 81degrees – that’s an expected climb of 45 degrees!

One thousand and one runners line up or rather bunch together in attempt to share communal warmth, a muffled voice over the loudspeaker tells us that the Sheriff who was to give us the safety brief is out catching ‘bad-guys’, 10 seconds to go and then the siren blasts; we surge forward.

A short downhill stretch and everyone is settling into their stride until we reach the second turn and find not only an illegal car parked but also the tow-truck attached to one end of it and the Sheriff’s car; I guess this is one of the bad guys mentioned earlier, essentially creating a roadblock, runners divide and absorb this blockage into its body, we regain our stride and head off towards the next mile marker.

At mile three we enter the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Note while the organizers arrange for the runners, the trail is not closed and we have been warned that we could encounter mountain bikers and horseback riders.

The trail winds its way along the side of a dry creek, an exceedingly mild winter has left the track dry and dusty with patches of soft sand and a liberal smattering of exposed rocks and stones waiting and wanting to trip the unsuspecting. At this point the path is about 5 abreast wide so over-taking is possible and runners jockey for position. Around mile 6 we enter a shady wooded area and the path narrows and varies between single file to a tight two abreast, the terrain becomes more rugged as we have to navigate gullies that have been carved by rainwater and criss-cross the path like contour lines on a topographical map, I suck down an energy gel and wash it down with some Amino Vital. Around mile 8 we emerge into the canyon’s centre; a plateau that is surround on all sides by ridgelines one of which we have to navigate. I can immediately feel the heat of the sun on my backs, the shadows are still long; it has only just gone 8.00am, but they are sharp and detailed with zero cloud cover between bodies and the sun. The footing becomes a deep red both rock and sand, the latter of which lures runners into only to find that it is several inches deep in parts just itching to twist your ankle.

I round several bends and see a long snake of runners ahead zig-zagging across the desert terrain…jeez are there really that many people in front of me. My iPod playlist tracks up Another One Bites the Dust by Queen; appropriate enough and I dig a little deeper. Along with the zig-zags we are now running a series of short sharp up and downs which drop you down up to 30’ at anything around a 45 degree angle and then require you run up the same the other side these are liberally smattered with exposed rock etc, the trick seems to be to delicately ‘twinkle toe’ down and then lower your body and extend you pace to cover as much ground in as few as step as possible; this seems to be an effective way to cover the ground and avoid face-planting. I thank myself for running hill sprints on a treadmill as I glance at my HRM which is merrily humming along in excess of 175 bpm during these short sharp uphills. I round a bend and before me I can see the defined dri-weave snake ahead ascending the final hill, which is, of course, preceded by a downhill slope…nothing like losing all that elevation that you have just worked hard for, this is the highest point on the race for a total elevation gain of 900’.

A lone supporter taking shelter under an equally lone tree claps as I run past and I thank them under my breath and break and smile. I reach the top to face one of the course photographers; now that’s a Kodak moment as my heart explodes out of my chest. This is around mile 9 it’s downhill most of the way back where I encounter several bemused mountain bikers on their way up who either cheer or look with a sense of mild amusement. At mile 10.5 we exit the trail back onto the road, my Nike+ is now telling me that I am at around mile 12 it’s not surprising that its been thrown off, I don’t think I have taken two steps with the same stride length in the last 80 minutes!

The downhill continues and I start to hope for a leveling off; the jarring is starting to wear thin. At this point we encounter the 5k and 10k runners who are being filtered into the running lave, it is all is actually starting to get a little bunched up with walkers, runners, strollers etc I take an outside line and run as close to the cones as I dare against the oncoming traffic sometimes entering the road proper much to the dagger-stares from a local police officer stopping traffic at a cross street intersection. I pass the mile 12 marker I glance down at my HRM and I am on target for a sub 2 hour finish and I am feeling strong, I kick up a notch and extend my stride and churn.

I round a bend and the final uphill faces me, a couple of other half marathoners who I have been playing tag with over the last two or three miles are now rubbing shoulders with me and I know that I have half a mile to go, the final bend reveals a 400m downhill to the finish line and I push a little harder and go a little faster, the last 200m are on the soft grass of Chumash Park and it’s a sprint finish which is over in a blur as from the left somebody hands me a finishers medal and on the right I am directed to have my ChampionChip cut off my shoe and have a bottle of water thrust into my hand.

I stop my HRM and it reads 1:49:49 11 seconds under my first time target and 10 minutes 11 seconds under my second line time target. I exit the finish chutes and wander into the expo to cool down and stretch out, the sun is now high in the sky and the expo is alive with music and supporters.

Sunday 6am the alarm goes off and gingerly set off for a short run to stretch out and shift the toxins around my body some more. As I run along the quite street with only a few cars and the occasional dog walker I think about yesterday’s race, replaying it in my head, where could I have done better, what could I have done different? Standing closer to the start line; pushing harder at the start, increasing my pace, after-all if I can sprint finish I must have not worked hard enough, right? My legs tell me otherwise for the first 3 or so miles this morning, but then they loosen as the blood flows through them and I forget the soreness and start to plan out in my mind the next race, only 42 days away…

Later that day I check the website for my official time 1:49:31 an 8.22 pace.