Stacking the deck the wrong way

On December 28, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Karhu Fast 2 – a contributing factor

Today’s run (street): 3.4 miles

This morning’s temperature was a mild 44°, but the winds from the west made it feel much colder. I decided to run with my new Alpine Design half-zip that I hoped would block wind. I was pleased that it did, although I would have been better off had I just worn a couple of shirt layers. I was sweating profusely by the end of my run.

I’d inadvertently stacked the deck against having a good run by choosing the Karhu Fast 2 running shoes that I’d relegated to elliptical duty a while back. When I did a quick run in the Karhu’s the other day they’d felt okay, so I thought I’d give them another try.

Other factors in play were a depleted blood supply (from my doctor’s visit yesterday) and a very large, calorie-laden meal at our friends last night. This included a Guinness stout and my system isn’t used to alcohol. I’ve only had the equivalent of five beers in all of 2011.

My route was through the neighborhood and I didn’t plan to run it fast. I figured 3+ miles would be an easy workout. By mile I realized it would be difficult to get through the entire run but I was determined to do it. The wind didn’t help and I felt hot and very tired. The Karhu’s high platform made it difficult to maintain a fluid stride.

By the time I’d finished, I was surprised by my level of exhaustion. I guess if I’d thought about it I would have chosen different gear and charted an even shorter route. But good runs usually follow bad ones, so I’ll hope for better experiences throughout the week.

I ran a great race, wish I knew why

On November 14, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

I haven’t quite figured out why I ran as well as I did in yesterday’s race. The weather surely helped and the course was flat and fast. I’d been having trouble keeping my daily runs within my targeted range, so I expected my pace to suffer with yesterday’s longer distance.

Besides taking two days rest prior to the race, I ran through my set of core exercises on Saturday morning. That small workout can yield good results and I really should do it more often. I believe that my good experience on Sunday came from a combination of environment, prep and being back to full strength after some weeks battling colds and injuries.

Even after good runs I think about what I could have done differently to achieve better performance. I’m not sure there’s much more I could have done yesterday. Had I run just 10 seconds faster, I would have paced in the 8:00 range instead of 9:00. A year ago that would have been important to me, but this year I feel differently. I did my best and I’m very happy with the results. That is until next Sunday’s race.

Thoughts on my race day performance

On April 11, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

It’s easy to dismiss a 5K as an easy race. The distance of 3.1 miles is only 20% longer than my average weekday run. But yesterday’s race was far more challenging than my standard 4:00 AM run. For one thing, I’m not performance focused at that hour and hardly ever break 9:00 per mile during the week. I might get there near the end but these morning runs are more about movement and maintenance. A 5K is about speed.

It had been eleven days since I donated a pint of blood at work and I’m wondering if that was still affecting me as I raced along the course. I made some mistakes in my preparation — I probably ingested too much caffeine and not enough water — but I didn’t suffer from oxygen debt throughout the race. My energy level was good but not optimal. There was a point in the race where I was moving along, probably at around an 8:20 pace, and a small group of runners passed me together. I thought at that moment “Why are they moving faster than me?” My legs were cranking but my cadence was probably slower. I tried to increase turnover but it didn’t make much of a difference.

I’m sure that if I had done speed work in the last month I’d have been more competitive on Sunday. My focus on base runs surely helped me because I felt solid even though I was running at paces that were close to a minute faster than on my training runs. Overall, I managed to beat 71% of those in my age division and 66% of the field so even on the day after the race I’m still pleased with my performance.