No Turning Back

Week 6 of my 16-week training program ended today with a well-attended group run on this Labor Day weekend, perhaps as many as 25 runners in all.  I find myself more and more completing training runs by myself, so what a joy it was to run with others today.  I met a really nice runner, Marcus, from Saint Petersburg who had contacted me through our website and met with me to run 19 miles in his training for the New York City Marathon.  (I went a little over 13 miles myself.)  And there were several local runners I had not seen in some time.  At one point the group left me behind as I plodded along in my stubborn 11-minute-mile pace; they went down Harris Drive and I took a shortcut down Smallwood Avenue, and I could hear them laughing and chattering loudly one block south of me through the trees - the joyous sound of camaraderie on a cool Saturday morning.

One of the runners I had not seen in awhile was Martha, who completed a strong 3-mile run, her first in some time.  She had announced this week that she wanted to run the OBX Half Marathon in November, and so her training begins, too, as we slowly approach Veterans Day weekend, side by side, striving for another noteworthy finish line.  I can't think of another runner I would rather have go the journey with me, in so many ways!

So today I pulled up the OBX website and signed up.  "This confirms your transaction completed successfully," the registration page said.  Now that I have spend $194.60 in registration fees - non-refundable registration fees - it is too late to hedge or waver or put it off for another year.  Soon we will pin that number on the front of our shirts that Dr. George Sheehan famously identified as that very moment when we become runners.  And as we run up Chestnut Street and Big Bearpen in the coming weeks, we will look forward with anticipation (and some trepidation) to that long high windy hill that awaits us at Mile 23 (Mile 10 of the Half Marathon), the Washington-Baum Bridge across the Roanoke Sound.

Week Six - Twice to the Summit

Week Six begins with the most "hill miles" I will run during this training program, eight miles in all.  The hill mileage drops down after this week, the long runs increase to 13 and then 16 and then 18 miles, and then I forgo hill miles entirely and replace them with mile repeats, Yassos, and tempo miles during September and October.

Eight miles seemed the perfect excuse to run up my favorite mountain again, Big Bearpen - from the Town Hall to the summit and all the way back (4 miles), and then repeating it a second time.  It was one of those cool, foggy, lovely days in Highlands, the summit entirely shrouded in that kind of brilliant fog that seems to be on the verge of falling apart into sunlight.  The familiar views of the lakes of South Carolina and Whiteside were invisible.  And quiet.  Nothing but the sounds of my footsteps, and a ferocious little dog locked in the cab of a pickup truck near the top that I startled into a sharp volley of barking each of the four times I passed him.

On the second ascent, I decided to run the loop around the summit clockwise, something I have only done once or twice before.  (Why do runners instinctively run loops, like tracks and summits, in a counter-clockwise direction?  Are we hoping to turn back the clock?)  What a surprising revelation it was!  I noticed a little tree-house on the right, a long curving stone wall on the left, two or three houses I had barely noticed before.  It was as if I was running on a different road entirely. 

How astonishing to realize that a simple change in direction can reveal things I have run by so many times before and simply not noticed in the brilliant fog of routine.

Twilight Rock N Roll 5-K

Race Director Derek Taylor and the Rotary Club of Highlands put on another excellent race this year.  I did not run the inaugural Twilight Rock N Roll 5-K last year, much to my regret, but I understand it was a good one despite rainy weather that would have discouraged the casual runner.  But this year the weather cooperated, and although it was a little warmer than most of us expected (high 70s), it was still cooler than most places in the area.  I ran a slower time than expected (and so did several others I spoke to), but in warm weather the wise runner dials back expectations and merely struggles to the finish line.  Moreover, this was the first really fast event I have done since a 5-K in Edenton - all of my miles lately have been long and slow and steep.  

I was glad that our Mayor, who just started running a couple of years ago, had such a good race, taking first place in my age group.  That's a good example to set.  And it was so great to see a race of this size and caliber in Highlands! - about 250 runners and walkers, more than I was ever able to attract during the many years I directed the Highlands PTO 5-K and then the Mountain Lakes 5-K.  There were also many families with children, and our burgeoning Cross Country team as well.  With a rock and roll band and free beer at the finish line, it seemed almost as if we were no longer in Highlands.  There I was, after my race and my cool-down, sipping a tasty lager courtesy of The Ugly Dog Public House, watching friends cross the finish line on Pine Street!  A truly wonderful evening.

August Heat

After several spells of cooler Canadian air descending to the South, we are finally experiencing August heat.  The temperature this morning, when I chose to go running, was only in the 70s, but now it is 81 degrees.  (And thank God for that little word "chose," for I am a fortunate man these days in not having to run at 4:30 p.m. every day like I did when I worked an 8:00 to 4:30 job, and therefore not choosing to run then.)  The heat index tells me that even the 65% or so humidity (more down in Clear Creek than up in Highlands) makes it feel a little warmer, perhaps 83 or 84 degrees.  So I was edging just a little into the "Caution" zone this morning:

But in Atlanta, it is 92 degrees as I write this, and the heat index is close to 100.  That puts the afternoon runner clearly in the "Extreme Caution" zone in our little chart.  My friend Anthony will be running the aptly-named Hotlanta Half Marathon this weekend, and I hope he exercises extreme caution.  Hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate again!  And remember that little word "hyponatremia."

And then be thankful that after your race you can return to Highlands, perhaps next weekend, to run with your friends in these cool, cool mountains we call home.

Week Five

The beginning of Week Five makes me think that the time is really starting to draw near when there will be nothing but difficult runs ahead of me:  fast runs, long runs, and steep runs.  Today's workout was a steep run - running up Big Bearpen, down to Fifth Street, and then up to the summit again, for a total of seven miles.  But I had Jim and Tanya to help me the first time, and the expectation of a glorious view the second time.  What a great morning to run!  There was a cool breeze nearly all the way, and the view of Whiteside at the top was as splendid as ever.

So it is time for an inspirational quote seen in Runners World, which (my turn) I wrote on our little blackboard in the kitchen reserved for such purposes.

Bamba Iqhaza

Yesterday I spent the better part of the afternoon lugging some big pieces of granite to an area under the front porch - in fact, directly under this study from which I am writing at the moment - propping them into position, and mixing mortar by hand in a wheelbarrow.  Instead of resting.  And as a result this morning's "long" run of 10 miles seemed more difficult than I expected.

I say "long" in quotation marks because 10 miles is a relatively short run when training for a marathon, as I have mentioned before in this blog.  William was here from New Jersey, training for his fifth marathon in New York City, and he ran 16 miles.  Anthony helped him out, ending up with 17 miles.  So 10 was not very long even compared to my companions this morning.  But it was long enough to make me question, as I have from time to time, whether this 65-year-old body can withstand the hardship of running 26.2 miles.  That seems to be a truly long way!  I let the others go on ahead most of the morning, maintaining my tortoise-like long-run pace of 10:45- to 11:00-minute miles, and musing about humility and self-confidence, how they are not opposites at all but actually complement each other in the runner.  I no longer go on training runs to compete with my running partners.  I'm too old and slow to dust anybody these days.

As I was finishing up with Pat and Karen, an "older" (those quotation marks again!) couple were coming down Fifth Street and asked me if I knew a good place to run.  "Sure," I said.  "Follow me!"  And I took them around the block, pointing out the green arrows recently painted for the Twilight Rock N Roll 5-K to be held here next Saturday night.  It quickly became apparent that they were not running as fast as I was at all, especially the woman, who seemed to struggle even with that little hill in front of the Catholic Church.  But when I began talking to the man - Bob, his name was - he explained that they were in the process of tapering for back-to-back marathons Labor Day weekend near Chicago.  "Back-to-back?" I asked.  "Yes, one on one day, the other the next day."

This 66-year-"old" runner - he would have to be exactly a year older than I, wouldn't he? - was then going to run a 50-mile ultra later in the year, and then his fourth Comrades Marathon in June.  I was astounded.  Comrades, for those who do not know, is a 56-mile ultra-marathon that has taken place in Natal Province, South Africa for almost 100 years, one of the most difficult ultra events in the world.  The race famously has a 12-hour time limit, at which time the officials simply close the gates at the finish line and those unlucky enough to not make it (7,000 or 8,000 runners) are simply out of it - no medal, no applause, no nothing.  That's a very serious time limit!

This was a message I needed to hear today.  If a 66-year-old runner can run two marathons on successive days, and complete a 56-mile race, then surely I, too, can dare to accomplish something grand and wonderful and completely insane.

Bamba Iqhaza:  that is the motto of Comrades, and it means "Be Part of It."  We can all learn that distance is merely another obstacle, and that there is always a reward for those who want to be part of it - even if the gate slams in your face.

Re-evaluating Recovery Strategies

I'm half-way through Week Four and another subtle change has occurred in the training plan.  This week I am running the same mileage as last week, but it is spread out over five days.  Running five days every week, rather than three or four days, will shortly become the norm.  The purpose of this change is to accustom the body to running every single day, or at least several days in a row, with little rest.  So I am trying to focus on good nutrition, on getting a good night's sleep, and on continuing to keep moving during the day.  I am also re-evaluating, at least at this point in the plan, the recovery strategies that I have relied on in the past.

Dean Karnazes, the gifted ultrarunner, said this recently in his blog:

"Having once run 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 consecutive days, I’ve learned a few things about recovery. Chiefly, I think it’s overrated.  Case in point, I didn’t do much by way of recovery during the 50-marathon endeavor (mainly because there wasn’t much time between running and traveling state to state). You’d think that the body would break down over the course of time, but that wasn’t what I observed. Quite the contrary, in fact. The final marathon—NYC—was the fastest of them all, 3:00:30. Not shabby for having just run 49 marathons in the 49 days prior. Rather than deteriorating, my body adapted to the daily load and grew progressively stronger over time.  Recent studies have cast doubt on the merits of conventional recovery techniques, like ice baths, compression, stretching, and message. We know that popping anti-inflammatory meds can disrupt the body’s natural recovery process and potentially pose a health risk if taken in higher doses. It seems to me that if you want to maximize the adaptive changes the body experiences when put under stress, the best advice is to do nothing for post-workout recovery."

That's interesting advice, but I'm not sure it applies to a 65-year-old.  One thing I know for sure, however:  even after 19 marathons, I still have a lot to learn about running them. 

Saturday Runs

Another long run today - 12 miles - and it went well.  Again, I felt that I could have gone farther, but holding back just a little for the next workout, and the next, is the road to success for this training plan to work.

It was nice, too, to enjoy  the sociability of being with other runners on a Saturday morning, because lately many of my workouts have been done in solitude.  Out of habit or convenience many in our running group are committed afternoon runners, while I am becoming more and more convinced, as this blog has mused, before that I am a morning runner.  But on Saturday mornings, nearly everybody shows up, gets in a long run, and then has the rest of the day free to do all of those interesting things that runners do on a Saturday in Highlands.  So round and round we go, getting off the usual roads, looping all over Highlands, in pairs and threes and fours, talking and laughing and touching base with one another.  Some of these runners I only see on Saturdays - like Karen - because her schedule does not allow weekday runs.

That is why we have a running club, after all - to encourage and motivate one another, to enjoy the out-of-doors, and to simply have fun together doing something we enjoy. 

Evolution

That picture I captured from the internet in my previous post reminded me a little too much of this picture:

And it made me wonder if I am "evolving" into a stronger runner as this training plan moves me uphill and forward.  I suppose I am a studious-enough runner, who enjoys reading and writing, that I can consider myself as resembling the fourth image above.  (But keep me from becoming that last fellow! - sitting in a chair, crouched over his laptop, putting more stress on his hamstrings and back and shoulders and neck than any of the others.)

"We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution." - Bill Hicks

Hill Running

Week Three, and my training program today called for running six miles of hills.  So I ran up Big Bearpen, most of the way back down, and then back up again.  The view at the top, as always, was breathtaking.  On the top, I saw my friend Molly walking around the summit loop; she took one look at me and said, "You must be in training."  And I realized that I was.

It reminded me of what Dr. George Sheehan famously said - recently seen in Runners World:

"Everyone is an athlete.  

The only difference is that some of us are in training, 

and some are not."

Ten Miles Strong

Ten miles is not an especially long run this early in the training plan, although to non-runners, or even to ordinary everyday runners, it may seem like a daunting distance.  Soon I will be running 14, 16, 18, and 20 miles on my long runs, finally topping off with a 22-mile run three weeks before the race.  I remember when Martha was training for her first marathon we were doing an easy ten-mile run one weekend between the super-long distances and she said, "I never thought I'd get to the point where a ten-mile run was easy!"

Not only was today's run easy, run at my slow long-run pace (and could it have something to do with the fact that this is the third week in a row I've run that distance?) but I felt that I could have gone two or three more miles.  That is always an encouraging moment in training:  to realize you could have run one more mile, done one more 800-mile repeat, one more tempo mile, but you held back to conserve the strength that is slowly and surely accumulating throughout your training.

I have seen many people train for a marathon too hard.  They run their long runs at race pace, as if they are doing a mini-marathon nearly every weekend.  And they burn out.  They have nothing left in the tank.  One should no more train like that than run completely out of gas in your car.  What is the point in draining yourself completely?

Save it for race day.  That's the day when you will run your tank completely dry.  And then you will continue to run a few more miles . . .