Today's Inspiration

3.5 Miles Run, 1.5 "Hike"

It's the day before my birthday, and I was blessed with a wide-open schedule. I went out to the gym I used to frequent when I lived in Leesburg. Since it's a public facility, I could pay $5 and just walk right in. I spent nearly all my time on the treadmill--a 10 minute walk, a 30 minute run (3.5 miles), and then a 30 minute hike. By my definition, hiking involves being outside, something more rugged than a treadmill. The treadmill came close, though, when I maxed out the incline at 15%, and kept the pace at about 3 mph. When I finished, my legs felt thoroughly used, but not overworked. Let's see how I feel tomorrow.

To answer the questions asking for my thoughts on treadmills... I definitely prefer being outside, but treadmills are a nice supplement. Perhaps it's not even treadmills I like as much as being in a gym, where I have a number of non-impact options like bikes and ellipticals. Now that the sidewalks are icy and most of my running happens in the dark, I've got few options. I don't like running on ice when it's dark--I took a nasty spill once and was lucky to only have my pride bruised. Ice during the day doesn't bother me though, since paying a little attention to my footing will basically protect me. One trick to treadmill running is to use the incline. Otherwise the running is artificially easier due to the lack of wind resistance (and hills). However, you can simulate the resistance by increasing the incline. Here's a great treamill pace conversion chart.

3.5 Miles

I'm trying out a 5 day trial membership at the gym in Purcellville. Today was Day 1. It felt great to be out of the cold and near all the amenities of a water fountain, bathroom, shower, etc... I completed 3.5 miles in 30 minutes (8:34 pace). The only thing that bummed me was I lost my running playlists on my iPod after I transferred the entire iTunes library over to my new external hard drive. I managed re-import the playlists, but because the file locations changed, the playlists were empty. Oh well, this may be an opportunity to make them better than ever.

I also fit in some "cross-training" in loading, unloading, and stacking two trailers of wood. Tomorrow, I'll get to bring some of it around to the side of the house to keep us warm when the snow comes this weekend.

30 Minutes

I'm in Houston for my cousin's wedding. The first thing I looked for at the hotel was the treadmill. Unfortuately, the hotel is situated in a suburban sprawl area devoid of interesting, safe running routes. When I found the exercise room, I was disappointed. I've been in closets bigger that that room. What was worse, the wall behind the treadmill was covered with scuff marks, which I soon found was the case for me. The treadmill was just too close to the wall and there was no more room to move away. If that wasn't uncomfortable enough, there was no way to adjust the air conditioning, which made the room incredibly hot. Anyway, I got in a half-hour run. Can't wait to forget about this one!

39 Minutes

I still can't believe that I can wear shorts and it's almost the middle of January. Neither can my dog. So we went out for a run. We made it through the noisy part of town, past the only gas station, and out to the running path in the new development. I can't believe how much better she is, how much more confidence she has since we brought her home from the shelter. The running path has a middling uphill, lined by fences of countless houses, many of which had dogs. We passed one dog in particular that definitely wanted (and needed) some quality play time. Maggie kept surging.

"Remember, Maggie, it's a marathon, not a sprint," I pleaded. I think she heard me and slowed back to my pace, looking sad-eyed.

On the way back, I thought about how she deserved the chance to show off. So when her tail started wagging as we approached the other dog again, I took off with her and we sailed by that yard full speed ahead. It was a real bonding moment (at least for me).

Today's Inspiration

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." (Jesse Owens)

4 Miles

When my wife and I went shopping, the skies were cloudy and I had no real inclination to go for a run. Then the sun came out. Each time she added another store to the list of stops, I got a little edgier. Finally, I called it quits and we headed back. On our way past Hamilton, I noticed a field with farming equipment next to the W&OD trail. The way the setting sun was reflecting off the tractor caused me to hit the gas to get home a little faster. Maybe, just maybe, I could capture the same thing on my run. I jumped out of the car, into my running gear, then sped back out to the Hamilton train station (no longer in its former glory). The sun had set a little more, taking the golden hue with it. The winds also picked up up, giving me a strong opposing headwind to deal with on the way out, which was slightly uphill. I decided to push the run to 4 miles instead of 3. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to adjust my iPod playlist, which was sounded a little flat at the end of the run, but that didn't bother me too much. Long story short, it was a great run. I finished the 4 miles in 36:30, about 9:08 pace. I was equally thrilled that my legs didn't crumble. The patience is paying off, little by little.

37 Minutes

It was dark, it was foggy, and it was getting colder. Sounds like perfect opportunity to go running. The temperatures were hovering in the low 40s, which is colder than the last few days, but still warm by January standards. It seemed warm enough to go out in shorts (a little too warm for my cold weather gear). Fortunately, I was right, but it took a little while to warm up. A huge motivator to get outside was testing out my iPod running playlist. The playlist was a great start, but it still needs some tweaking. The current list definitely made the run go by a lot faster.

I was thinking that the iPod could be great for intervals. If I can manage the right list, I'd alternate speed and recovery sections of the run with the change of each song. That way, I wouldn't look at my watch. (I don't have a track nearby to do intervals by distance.)

Endurance Radio

My beloved wife gave me an iPod for Christmas. Now, I'm constantly on the lookout for new things to listen to. One great source of new material is the world of podcasts (sort of internet radio programs). So you can imagine, I was thrilled to find Endurance Radio, which puts out free audio programs with interviews on subjects like marathoning, adventure racing, and triathlons. Recently, there was an interview with Kent Oglesby on running.

You can listen to these programs using an mp3 player, like iPod, or from your computer. They have an XML feed that you can put into aggregator like Blogines. I also put it into my Doppler aggregator, which extracts the mp3 files and places them in a folder for iTunes to pick up and put on my iPod.

(For the uninitiated, many blogs offer feeds, for which you can use an aggregator to collect. Bloglines is an example of an aggregator. Essentially, it brings all my favorite blogs to me, rather than forcing me to visit all the blogs individually. Many news sites offer feeds, which often appear as icons showing RSS, XML, or Atom. My feed is listed on the right side of this page. You copy the feed's URL into the aggregator. My blog URL is http://runnersblog.blogspot.com/, with the feed URL being http://runnersblog.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you click on it, the feed will open in your browser, but it will look a little strange. Feeds are best viewed through the aggregators, which interpret the format into something more user-friendly.

Podcasters devised feeds that include enclosures in their feeds. The enclosures are mp3 files that contain all the audio from their podcasts. Podcasters went a step further in creating applications like Doppler to extract the mp3 files out of the feeds into a folder that will synch up with the mp3 player.)

36 Minutes

I took full advantage of the warm weather and went for a short run. The air is so warm that I really wish I could have run longer, but alas, patience will be a virtue and my IT bands will keep their temper in check. Since it was dark, I hesitated taking my dog with me since she freaked out in the middle of the same neighborhood at night. I decided it was high time to try and try again. She was remarkable. She paid close attention to where I was going and was mindful of my directions when cars were passing. She wagged her tail and flopped her tongue the entire way. When we passed barking dogs, her ears shot up and her tail wagged a little more, and then she picked up the pace a little bit (I do the same thing in front of other people). She loves being "that dog," the one other dogs envy because she is outside and they are inside. She loves hearing the other dogs cry foul, and there was a lot of crying along tonight's route.

On a fitness note, I think the exercises folks recommended are really starting to take hold. I didn't feel any problems with my IT bands tonight, which I am happy about because I ran a little faster than I wanted (Maggie is a horrible pacer). I really want to thank everyone for their suggestions. For some reason, I never linked the strength of my upper leg muscles to my IT bands flaring up. It's definitely consistent with the fact that they never bother me once I'm in shape (unless I need new shoes). I always thought it was something I just had to grin and bear until I came through the other side. Now I understand there are things I can do to prevent it all together. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!

Winter Inspiration

In the long, dark months of winter, inspiration can be hard to come by. Enter IMAX Everest (1998). The expedition team managed to haul an IMAX camera, specially fitted for this trip (still weighing 40 lbs), all the way to the summit. The footage they shot is the most impressive I've ever seen. Midway through the trip, the horrible story of stranded climbers unfolds and unintentionally becomes part of their own story and film. The persoal triumph of Beck Weathers waking from a hypothermic coma and finding his way back to camp is truly inspirational. The IMAX film gives a little attention to this, but the special features on the DVD really do it justice. I recommend watching this over two nights. After your first cold run, watch the film. After your second frozen outing, watch the bonus materials. They'll definitely give you some grit to draw on the next tough run.

Running Jokes

The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.
... ERMA BOMBECK ...

One of the wonderful things about running is what it does for your body . . . Running will give you sloping shoulders and a thin, haunted appearance which is irresistible to Finns. Don't be surprised if you develop a high adenoidal whine, like someone who was tortured in Algeria. Some of the fat that gets pared down may tend to collect in the form of high, billowing, steatopygic buttocks, common to Zulu warriors.
... BRUCE IAY FRIEDMAN ...

My doctor recently told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already.
... MILTON BERLE ...

Spring Plans

Well, it's time to start thinking about potential races in the spring to help me whittle some focus over the long winter months. My brother and I decided to sign up again for the Monument Avenue 10k in Richmond, VA. We had such a good time doing it last year that we didn't think twice about it. The course was flat, fast, and through a beautiful part of the city.

We also decided to expand on our Maryland Challenge hike back in June, which was about 43 miles. Now we have our sights on a 100k hike of the C&O canal towpath, the 32nd annual C&O Canal 100K One Day Hike from Washington D.C. to Harpers Ferry. They open the trail during the dark hours for folks to complete the hike and setup food/water stations. The C&O towpath is much flatter than the AT stretch we hiked, but the extra 20 miles will add the challenge of keeping focused, staying awake, and figuring out better strategies to avoid chaffing. I can't wait!

3 Miles

With balmy temperatures in the 60s, I simply had to get outside for a run. Of course, I had to do some work first, painting the new bookshelves were assembling and installing. That took about four hours--just priming. Completion time: 4:00 p.m. I really had to hurry to get out to the park before the sun started setting. I hurried out to Franklin Park, which was closed for the holiday. Then I went through Hamilton and parked at the mill, which is right next to the W&OD trail. I was excited to be outside again comfortably in shorts. I was also excited to take my iPod on its first run. All in all, things went well. I kept a slow and steady pace, trying not to overdo it and keep with the strategy of building my legs up again so I don't blowout the ITB. At one point, I went onto the horse trail, which took me up an incline above the paved trail. I missed my mile marker. When I realized it, I quickly understood I was adding a mile to my run. I stopped after three miles, as planned, and felt great. Then I walked briskly back to my car, with a total of two miles walking (some from the warm-up). Oh yeah, I left my watch at home. I didn't want to know or care or worry about time today.

When I got home, I stretched while watching the IMAX film about Everest, then plowed though my running and outdoor magazines.

My project for tonight and tomorrow is to put together some playlists for the iPod to time perfectly with my runs as I progress from shorter to longer outings. I'll let you all know what I come up with.