Category Archives: Practice

Practice, Running, Training Log

November 3-9 Practice Running

Monday, November 3, 2014, 3:15 pm

5.01 mi, 91 ft gain, 47:12. Road through town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

I was not ready for the end of daylight savings time. It gets dark so early. The dark clouds didn’t help. Fortunately, it didn’t rain very hard. Ran out to the same empty lot as Saturday. Other than a slower pace, this run was a lot like Saturday’s run.

 

Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 3:45 pm

5.35 mi, 327 ft gain, 48:39. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red.

I performed some shoe surgery last night, removing the heel cup from my red Altra Superior 1.5s. The second shoe went better. They’re more comfortable without the rigid piece against my heels. They seem to fit more snuggly as well. Without the rigid piece, the heel can conform to my heel better. It’s also softer. I’m hoping this helps with my heel/achilles issues.

I decided to try out the alteration today and headed for the tree farm. About the same level of discomfort as the past few days for about the same amount of time before warming up. The shoes seemed great. I’ll have to see how it feels tomorrow and after a couple more tests.

 

Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 6:01 pm

3.19 mi, 28 ft gain, 23:59. Road in town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

Slightly more discomfort today than yesterday. I’m not sure if it was the shoes or the hills yesterday. But I still warmed up and sped up around 0.7 mi. I saw that I kept gradually going faster by about 1.4 mi. I decided to run some fartleks. I did a couple blocks at about 90%. I did that 5 times with 2-3 blocks in between each rep. I pushed the last one. I might have had one more in me. The last two reps were into the wind too.  Very minimal sprinkles, and the road was wet but not enough to splash up through the soles of my shoes.

Average paces for each rep: 4:54/mi, 4:51/mi, 4:54/mi, 4:50/mi, 4:57/mi

 

Thursday, November 6, 2014, 9:07 pm

4.3 mi, 309 ft gain, 37:31. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

I made the same modifications to my blue pair of Superior 1.5s. The test seemed to go pretty well. Less discomfort today than yesterday. Ran the same way around the loop as Monday, but didn’t add the extra out and back this time.

I ordered a Mio Link a few days ago and it arrived today. So I tried testing it out. I downloaded the app on my phone to set it up. I got it to pair with my Suunto Ambit 2 R, but it wouldn’t show any data during the run. The Mio Link flashes different lights for different heart rate zones, which you can adjust, and that worked. I had the same problem trying to use my old Garmin heart rate monitor with my Suunto. It paired, but didn’t didn’t show any data.

As it turns out, I had search for HR monitor turned off in the settings for the watch.

 

Friday, November 7, 2014, 5:47 pm

4.25 mi, 311 ft gain, 38:05. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

Another run in the dark. It was a little colder today. It seems to be taking me longer to get used to the cooler weather this year than I remember it taking in the past.

Anyway, I got the Mio Link to work today. But it didn’t seem very accurate. For the first half mile or so, it was reading around 70-88 bpm or so. I had it pretty tight, so I loosened it and it started to show a HR more of what I expected. As I went along and started to sweat, though, it started to read way higher than it should have. It was a downhill section. I sped up a little just because of gravity, but I wasn’t pushing the pace at all and it was showing 180 bpm. I wasn’t breathing hard at all. Once I reached the car, it was still showing way high. I spun the Mio Link around so the sensor was on the underside of my wrist, thinking maybe sweat and my hairy arm was messing it up. Immediately, the displayed HR dropped to the low 120s from the 160s.

The run was pretty good. I found myself adjusting based on my displayed HR. I think I may go back running based on how I feel and just use the HR data to adjust from run to run or over weeks or something.

 

Saturday, November 8, 2014, 3:18 pm

10 mi, 435 ft gain, 1:20:30. Long way around town + Wallace Falls TH + West city limit, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

The Mio Link worked much better this time. I wore it with the sensor on the underside of my wrist, where it’s not so hairy. It took a little while for my heart rate to go up when I started. I guess that’s good. I tried to keep my heart rate below 150 bpm for the most part. I found myself speeding up, going over a few times. I averaged 142 bpm.

I ran out Gunn rd instead of turning on to US2 right away. That way I didn’t have to run close to highway traffic for so long. The first climb on May Creek rd wasn’t bad. Once I got around closer to Reiter rd, the views of Mt. Persis, and Prospect Peak were beautiful in the setting sun. Then when I made the turn staying on May Creek rd past Reiter rd the sunset was amazing through the trees. There was a lot less traffic on May Creek rd today than last Sunday.

It was starting to get dark by the time I turned onto Ley rd towards Wallace Falls State Park. I pulled out my headlamp for visibility to cars. I pushed it a bit up the hill to the parking lot, topping out around 170 bpm. After a quick pitstop at the restroom, I headed back out.

For the rest of the run, I had consciously make an effort to keep a slower pace. I kept speeding up and saw my HR go above 150 bpm. The main reason I wanted to keep it below was to see what kind of pace it translates to.

I turned west at US2 and ran out to just past the city limits to get a little extra distance to hit 10 mi. It was tough to see the dirt “road” on the north side, parallel to the highway when I turned around facing traffic. With the headlights in my eyes, I had to use both my headlamp and flashlight to dodge potholes and puddles. I managed to keep my feet pretty dry the whole run.

I ran past my driveway almost to the property line, I was still short of 10 mi by a few hundredths of a mile. I enjoyed every minute of today’s run, despite being on roads.

 

Sunday, November 9, 2014, 7:30 pm

4.53 mi, 266 ft gain, 41:33. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1. Altra Superior 1.5 Red.

Another run in the dark. Achilles/heel a little worse than Friday, but loosened up. It took almost a mile and a half to warm up with regards to the cold.

A few hiccups with the Mio Link. It showed a few spikes in my HR that didn’t make sense. It seems to be pretty sensitive to maintaining contact to the skin, which is tough to get right with the wrist strap. Too tight and it doesn’t read right or constricts blood flow. Too loose and it won’t maintain contact. Average HR was 132. Irregardless of the hiccups, it’s nice to see how my perceived effort and HR compare at an easy pace. Apparently I can go faster and still stay in an aerobic zone.

 

Weekly totals: 36.6 mi, 1740 ft elevation gain

Exercise, Practice, Running, Training Log

October 27-November 2 Practice Running

Monday, October 27, 2014, 5:09 pm

4.02 mi, 127 ft gain, 59:15. Sultan Basin Rd DNR gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

I may have to give up on my goal of 2000 mi for the year. My achilles/heel just keeps nagging. It’s not bad, but not really getting much better. And I’ve given up on running the 12 hour race this Saturday. I should probably take it easy for a while, if I can handle it mentally.

Anyway, a little discomfort for about half of the run. I was shooting for 4-6 mi. Couldn’t go to either of the first two spots I wanted to run because of hunters. It’s firearm deer season. So I went out a little further. I ended up running the two single track sections connecting the closed logging roads around to the third single track section that loops back to the road I started on. I found some chanterelles on the first road, a pleasant surprise.

I was a little short of 4 mi, so I ran across to the other gate and out a little ways to get my 4 mi.

I was planning to take it easy for a couple weeks in January before making a training push for a race in March. I guess my schedule has moved up.

 

Tuesday, October 28, 2014, 5:30 pm

4.57 mi, 66 ft gain, 41:29. Road in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

Not too bad starting out. Then at about 0.2 mi, left achilles/heel started to tighten up and hurt. By 0.4 mi I could tell it was throwing off my gait, it hurt, and I was seriously thinking about turning around and taking a break for a week or two. I decided to slow down and go a couple more minutes. Then everything loosened up and felt fine for the rest of the run.

Before I started, I was feeling pretty good and thinking of going for about 6 mi. After going for a bit, and with the waning light, I decided I’d just go out for about 20 min, turn around and come back. I kept it at a fairly easy pace. I noticed several times that I was slowly speeding up to Sigurd’s pace as he was lightly pulling.

I hit 20 min and decided to go up to the next street. That, a couple stops for the dogs, a pitstop for myself, and taking the rocky RR access road, which slowed my pace a bit, on the way back make up for going over 40 minutes.

I’ve been sort of dreading going running with the rainy, gloomy weather the past week or so. But I’m happier and feel so much better every time I get home afterwards.

If I do scale back my running this much earlier than I planned, I might have to finally get into a yoga class or something.

 

Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 5:24 pm

4.58 mi, 66 ft gain, 39:28. Same as Tuesday, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

Still some discomfort from about 0.25-0.5 mi but not nearly as bad as yesterday. After that, it was pretty good. Hit the same turn around spot at about the same time. No pitstops on the way back this time, and stuck to the road instead of the rocky RR access road. I think I also kept a little faster pace today too.

Got home and took a look at a couple more small trees leaning over the driveway. I took care of one a couple days ago. I got out the bow saw and took care of two more today. I also got to enjoy the beautiful sunset through the trees while doing so.

Dry and partly sunny today.

 

Thursday, October 30, 2014, 4:52 pm

4.71 mi, 66 ft gain, 40:00. Same as Tue & Wed, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

I didn’t want to go out in the rain—again. But I’m glad I did. Very little discomfort from about 0.35-0.55. Great the rest of the time. I did a quick lap back down the road from the RR crossing at the beginning, waiting for a train to go by. It was shorter than I expected, so I didn’t have to backtrack far.

After that I ran out to the same spot I’ve turned around the last couple days. I got there at about the same time, even with the little extra waiting-for-the-train time. A little slower on the return trip than yesterday, but I think I stopped once more for the dogs to pee than yesterday as well.

The rain wasn’t too bad. The wind on top of the rain was rather annoying on the return trip from about 3.5-4.25 mi.

I’m not running the 12hr. I want to fully recover this time. I’ve pushed it too early, because I felt pretty good, and just prolonged the recovery process. As much as I want to get into the mountains before they get snowed in, I ‘ll stick with flat and easy, so I can keep running.

 

Friday, October 31, 2014, 3:59 pm

3.19 mi, 28 ft gain, 29:12. Road in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

I wanted to run farther today, but didn’t have the time before I had to leave for some errands. I thought about going for another run in the dark after I got back, but I don’t really want to run around in the dark on Halloween.

I had a little less discomfort than yesterday at about the same point in the run. I’m looking forward to no more pain and getting back to longer trail runs.

 

Saturday, November 1, 2014, 5:32 pm

5.04 mi, 92 ft gain, 41:28. Road through town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

I wanted to longer, but it’s getting dark so early. Maybe I’ll go out later for a few more on my own. I don’t like road running with the dogs in the dark.

Less discomfort than yesterday, happening in about the same section. It was a little colder today. No rain though. Overall a pretty good run. Went faster than the past few days. About 20 min out to turnaround. The dogs took a minute doing their business at the turnaround. I ran past my house just a little bit to hit 5 mi.

 

Sunday, November 2, 2014, 4:03 pm

9.14 mi, 444 ft gain, 1:17:42. Long way around town + Wallace Falls TH, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

I wanted to get a little longer run on the roads in today. Less discomfort today starting at about the same point and lasting just a little longer. I started heading east up US2, turned on May Creek Rd, followed it around to Ley Rd and up to the Wallace Falls SP TH, got a little water and headed out again. Then I headed for home on my normal route.

I only had a couple vehicles not give me space while running on the small or non-existent shoulder. I liked the hills on May Creek rd, both going up at the beginning and down a couple miles later.

I pulled out my headlamp shortly after leaving the state park. It wasn’t that dark yet, but I use it more so vehicles see me. I like to carry a flashlight on road runs in the dark as well. I usually carry it in my traffic side hand pointing backwards so vehicles behind me can see me better. Sometime I’ll get some small flashers to just clip to my vest or clothes.

After a few minutes to warm up, I felt pretty awesome for the rest of the run. My effort at this pace was comparable almost 1 min slower pace at around this time last year. It’s great to see progress.
October totals: 215.2 mi, 23,536 ft gain

My personal best monthly mileage total, only by 3 mi, but that’s still pretty good for cutting back as much as I did for the last 2 weeks.

Weekly totals: 35.3 mi, 775 ft gain

 

I’m disappointed that I missed the 12 hour race on Saturday, but I’d rather recover fully for bigger plans yet to come. I guess there’s still time to hit my 2000 mi goal for the year, but I have 481 mi to go. I’d have to average a little over 8.1 mi a day. I’m happy with my year of running, regardless. With the exception of July, when I eased up a lot due to rolling my ankle, I’ve increased my mileage every month from 145 mi in April. I’ve also run at least 3 mi everyday starting August 13th. And I’ve already beat my best yearly mileage. A possible big race in Spring is a more important goal for me, anyway.

Philosophy, Practice

Practicing the Way: I am the Tao

I’ve read the Tao Te Ching several times in the past. Lately, I’ve been reading a couple sections before bed when I need a break from whatever else I’m reading at the time.

A few weeks ago I read sections 4 and 5. The first paragraph of section 4 and second paragraph of section 5 stood out to me.

Section 4 paragraph 1:
The Way is a void,
Used but never filled:
An abyss it is,
Like an ancestor
From which all things come.

Section 5 paragraph 2:
Between the earth and sky
The space is like a bellows,
Empty but unspent.
When moved its gift is copious.

In Taoism, the Way is everything and nothing. It’s empty and without form, but everything comes from it and is contained by it.

Reading it this time, I had a different thought. The Way could also stand for all of human potentiality, everything that you, I or we could ever possibly do, become or achieve.

I get a glimpse of this when I exceed my own expectations running, going faster or farther than I previously thought possible. I realize even more of this looking back on other past accomplishments.

I am not complete until the end. My life is not filled. My past has created my present self. It continues to create my future self as the past keeps pace with the present, my becoming. It’s not enough to be incomplete, though. I have to remain open to possibilities, and actively engage.

There is no real limit to my capacity to achieve, only my ability at any given time to see what’s possible. When I open myself to opportunities and harness the unspent energy of my past, in the form of skills, knowledge, training, experiences and more, I can create my own copious gifts.

Practice

Practicing Willpower

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Willpower is a tricky thing. In some aspects of my life it’s easy. In others, not so much. I’ve never been tempted by drugs, tobacco or alcohol.

Sugar was a different story. I spent a couple years trying to deal with my food addictions with moderation. Moderation doesn’t work very well for me. It was only when I decided to cut processed sugars out completely that I was able to maintain control, and after several months the cravings disappeared.

I’ve had similar experience with running. For several years I only ran 3 days a week. It worked for me then. But when I tried to move to 4-5 days a week, I had trouble. It was a lot easier to skip planned runs the day after a planned rest day, much like occasionally eating candy sustained my sugar cravings.

Now I run everyday, even if some days it’s only a couple miles. I don’t have to worry about the will power to go for a run, because it’s just something that I do everyday. It’s become habit.

Maybe I’ll build breaks into my training again eventually. It’s just easier for me when I’m all in, removing as much temptation as possible.

Practice, Running

Practicing Transcendence: Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 7 Hour Race Report

I ran the Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 7 Hour Race at Magnuson Park, Seattle on Sunday, September 21. I thought about running it for a couple months, but didn’t actually decide to do so until about 10 days prior. I sent my application in on the 12th.

I got everything I might need together the night before. I had more food than I expected to need, but wanted to have different options just in case. I had an extra pair of shoes, sunscreen, salt caps, water bottles, body glide, gaiters, a button up golf shirt and a few other odds and ends.

My sleep schedule was even further from ideal for race day leading up to it than my last race, the Rattlesnake Ridge 50k. I was able to get nearly a full 8 hours of sleep the night before, however.

I woke up at 5:40 am, got ready and put everything in the car. I headed out just after 6:30 to give myself a little time before the 8 am start. It’s a little over an hour drive to Magnuson, with a few minute delay due to construction on SR522.

I stopped at the gas station across the street from the park to pee and pick up a bag of ice. A few minutes later, I found parking right near the aid station. I checked in and went back to the car to get ready. I had about 17 minutes to start time. I needed a longer restroom stop before the race started, but the park staff hadn’t unlocked the restrooms at the start/finish line. So I drove down near the boat launch. I took my shoes and bib in with me to finish getting ready.

Back to the start line with a few minutes to spare. The pre-race briefing had just started. It was a pretty small crowd, about 20 runners. We had 7 hours to run around a 1.528 mi course as many times as we could. No credit would be given for partial laps.

I decided that I’d carry one handheld bottle and wear my UD Jurek Essential belt to carry food and my car keys. I could have gone without the belt. I had a second bottle that I left at the aid station, so I could swap out. I asked whoever was manning the aid station when I swapped if they could refill the empty bottle and leave it for me to pick up later. It worked pretty well. There were a couple times that I found an empty bottle waiting for me, but I don’t know how well I expressed what I wanted at times later in the race. I also had a cooler that I left by the aid station with fruit and ice.

The race started to the sound of a conch. Four other guys and I took out in the lead, following the race director, Daulot Fountain, on his bike, showing us the route.

I probably went out too fast, but I really wanted to see how far I could go in 7 hours. I still think that I might be able to hit 50 mi on a perfect day. Sunday wasn’t perfect, but I still put in the effort.

After a few laps, I had settled into 2nd place. The temperature was comfortable for the first few hours. I stopped at my car a few times during the race, because I forgot to put the freezer bags of dates that I brought.

I kept a fairly even pace for the first 20-22 miles or so. I was fairly comfortable to nearly 30 mi. By then, I had slowed a bit and stopped at the aid station almost every lap. Earlier, I went 2-4 laps without stopping for aid.

About halfway through, I took off my tank top and went sans shirt for a couple laps. By then it was starting to get rather warm. It hit the mid-80s and most of the course was exposed to the sun.  I then stopped at my car again and grabbed the Nike golf shirt that I brought.

I’m so glad I brought the button up shirt. The first lap wearing it, I left it unbuttoned. It kept the sun off most of my upper body for at least half the lap. Almost every lap after that I either took the shirt off and dunked it in my melting left over bag of ice or squeezed sponges of ice water from the aid station over the shirt to act as sort of a swamp cooler. I also started doing just the top button. This kept the shirt from flapping all over, protected me a little more from the sun and still kept air circulating around my body very well. This was the first time I tried a button up shirt and I will definitely do it again.

The early leader lapped me twice somewhere around the marathon mark. I lost 2nd place somewhere around the same time as well, to the guy who eventually won. He had an impressive day, keeping a pretty even pace throughout.

I kept on trucking along. I had definitely slowed from my early pace, but I tried to maintain at that level.

The course was fairly flat, much flatter than nearly anything I normally run. There was one small hill, about 15 ft gain over 30-40 yards. Around 22-24 mi or so, I started walking the hill. The miles and the pace were catching up with me and I decided it was better to conserve that little energy. It was also good to stretch my legs with a different gait.

Starting to run again from a stop at the aid station was rough later in the race. It took a minute to get back into the rhythm each lap. The paved portions of the course started to get to me as well. About 1/4 or so of the course was paved. I started trying to run on the small grass strips along the sides.

Somewhere north of 34 mi, I unlapped myself from the leader once. The eventual 1st place also lapped me somewhere around there too. I wasn’t really in the mindset of running against other people though. Sure, it would be cool to win, but I was running for me.

I came around for what turned out to me my second to last lap, and my lap counter told me there were 15 minutes left. My current pace was around 16 minutes per lap. I decided to go. I looked for my bottle swap, but it was empty. The aid station volunteer helped me quickly fill it most of the way, and I was off.

I pushed the pace to about the same as my first few miles. My last 1.8 mi were between 8:38/mi and down to 8:16/mi. I saw the women’s winner coming back on the lollipop section as I went out. I was a few hundred yards from the finish line when I heard the crowd of volunteers, other runners, friends and families cheering her on to finish. Looking at my GPS, I thought I had less time than I actually had, so I sped up again.

As I neared the finish, everyone was cheering and the other runners created a tunnel with their raised arms for me. It was an awesome feeling to finish a race to that kind of support. I crossed the finish line with about 1 minute left on the clock, the last runner to come in.

I came in 3rd place, 2nd in my age group. With that last lap, number 28, I finished the same distance as the early leader, though he finished about 10 minutes earlier.

After the race, there was a picnic and awards ceremony down by Lake Washington. I took a dip in the water to cool off. Then a quick shower to rinse off the algae and grime from both the race and the lake.

It was a great event. The volunteers were kind, helpful and very supportive. Three of them also took part in the run as a team. Other volunteers walked around the course cheering runners on as well. The layout of the course was such that you didn’t go very long without seeing other runners. Even if you weren’t passing or being passed by someone, you could see them on the lollipop section. All the runners were supportive of each other as well. All of their compliments definitely helped. And they were a friendly bunch to chat with after the race as well. I look forward to seeing them at races in the future.

I may not have hit my reach-goal of 50 miles, but I’m thrilled with my performance. I ran farther and for a longer time than I had ever run before. I had a little concern, beforehand, that running laps around a course would be too repetitive. I didn’t find that the case at all. I’ve written about reaching a meditative state while running before. I was in it for most of the day. I was so deep in the zone that I nearly ran off the very well marked course a couple times, even though I had already run multiple laps. It was a transcendent run in many ways.

 

Official distance: 42.784 mi

GPS data: 43.77 mi, ~500 ft gain (difference due in part to restroom trips, not taking the most direct line, etc.)

 

Gear:
Altra Superior 1.5 (blue)
Injinji Trail mini crew
UD handheld bottles (fastdraw plus and fastdraw 20)
UD Jurek Essential belt
Under Armor tank
Nike ACG Drifit button up shirt (thrift store purchase)
RGear Stash & Dash 3” split shorts

 

Fuel/Hydration:
Unsure how much water I took in. Started with 20 oz every 3 laps, went to every 2 laps, then every lap for the last hour.
~5-6 bananas
~1 orange
5-6 small slices of watermelon
~5 Pluots
~20 medjool dates
~15 salt caps