LA Marathon Training and Recap of Jay's DIY Turkey Tri

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving Holiday. Mine was great, with a terrific FIVE blessed days off with my family. But, the running suffered some..

I just started training for the 2011 LA Marathon, and I feel behind already!
It's been a frustrating few weeks with some pretty mediocre runs. My wife and I have been struggling with colds, and I have not had a decent long run since 16 days ago (8 miles).

Training this past Week:
Week     Day       Planned          Actual
 2            Tue        45-55min        Zero
               Thu        45-55min        1hr 45mins Total, 42min Run, 3.1mi
                                                    (10.4mi Turkey Tri recap below)
               Fri          Rest                45min, 3.1mi
               Sat         1:40                1:12, 5.1mi

Skipping runs and babying this cold did not seem to help me much after 2 weeks, so I decided to go ahead and jump back into training. I had considered doing the San Dimas Turkey Triathlon this past weekend, but I was pretty certain I would not be up for a half-mile swim in the freezing cold. My co-worker told me about the Naples Island Canal Swim area. Enclosed ocean canal, buoyed marked swim area, calm water, .. perfect! I mapped out a little swim, and then decided to tack on a short bike and a short run.

 Voila! Jay's Inaugural Do-It-Yourself Turkey Triathlon 

Early on Thanksgiving morning, I drove to Long Beach. Parking the "Transition-Zone Minivan" in Naples, the temp read 44-degrees at 6:10AM. I decided to wait inside the heated van a bit for the sun, and to see if things would warm up. Nope.. when I jumped in the water around 6:50AM, it was a cozy 42-degrees and looked like this:

Running on the sand to the point where I would enter the water, the bottoms of my feet were aching on painful pins-n-needles from the wet ice-cold sand! Diving into the frigid water itself was not bad at all, until water creeped down the back of my wetsuit and settled in the small of my back, like a very cold squirmy fish. My face really did not like being in that icy cold water either.. so, more doggy-paddling. 467 meters, about a quarter-mile swim.

After a 6-minute Minivan T1, onto the bike course! Turns out, this was also the morning of the Long Beach Turkey Trot 5K/10K. That was interesting.. kind of like bowling for turkeys. Had to slam the brakes several times. Since I was clipped into my bike pedals, I almost tipped over twice. Catching yourself on a tipping bike while clipped in really burns those quads!! Finally, I had to get off the crowded beach path, and circled back along Ocean Blvd. Total ride: 11K

The run was along the same Belmont beach course. A short, slow, and easy 5K out-and-back run.

Best part of this Triathlon? I finished 1st Overall, and 1st in my Age Group!

Finally, can't have a Thanksgiving post without a picture of food!

My Big Training Hurdle Ahead... Trying to stay On-Track!
Here's my tweaked line-up for this upcoming week:

   Mon:    Rest
   Tue:     55min Run
   Wed:    Spin 60, possibly bike to work
   Thu:     2:00 Long Run
   Fri:       Spin 30, Row 30

December is travel month. This week, we go up to Sacramento, and then 3 days in Tahoe! Never been to Tahoe, but I hear that it's beautiful and plenty of snow. Looking forward to sledding with the wife and kids! I need to find some chains for the "Transition-Zone Minivan" tires. Oh yeah, right before Tahoe, my wife is going to go for a quick jog around Sacramento in a little race called the California International Marathon. With all the activities, driving, altitude, etc.. a successful 2-hour long run up in Tahoe seems unlikely. I need to squeeze it in before we leave.

Later in December, the bigger challenge will be keeping up with my training while in the freezing-cold of Chicago for about 9 days over Christmas. My training calls for a 2:40 long run around Christmas. Too many deterrents (snow, cold), distractions (kids, wife, food), and holiday cheer all add up to a big monkey wrench in my training plan. To take control and force myself to stay on track, I signed up to represent Illinois in Sam Felsenfeld's Operation Jack Satellite Marathon. So, while Sam is running his marathon near my home in sunny, warm, So Cal, I am going to be running in the freezing snow of Chicago? Supposed to be 6.1 miles, but we'll see if I can stretch it out to something close to a 2:40 run in the snow. I'm sketching out a Dec 24 run that finishes the last quarter mile on my high school track. That seems like it'd be a nostalgic and cool finish. I'll have to see how arctic conditions are on the ground, as the 12/24/2010 date approaches. Anyone care to join me? (..silence....)

Here's my tweaked Los Angeles Marathon training schedule. I'm trying to stick with Chi Running and the time-based Sole Runners program for this first marathon. My goals for my first marathon are to start the marathon with my awesome wife, enjoy the sights of LA, finish strong, and feel good about my run. Not too much to hope for, right?

Training Plan for the 2011 Los Angeles Marathon

 

What, if any, adjustments are you making in your training to handle travel, business, and the upcoming holidays?

Happy Holidays!

 

Heart Damage and Marathon Running

As a doc who underwent major open heart surgery in 2006, and is now trying to lose weight and get healthy by training to run the 2011 Los Angeles Marathon, and do Triathlons .. this article was very interesting to me!

For those that are not familiar with my cardiac escapades, you can peruse more here:  About Me (& my heart)

Marathon runners suffer temporary heart damage

Decrease in blood flow impairs function, may explain sudden deaths, study finds

In brief, Canadian researchers looked at twenty runners (70% were men), and ran a battery of tests before, immediately after, and several months after, the Quebec Marathon (that's 42.195 Km for us metrically-challenged Yanks). Testing included VO2max and cardiac MRI. They found temporary changes immediately after the race, including edema and inflammation. From this, they suggest possible cardiac damage, possibly from transient decreases in blood flow to the cardiac muscle itself. This was felt to be most evident in the less-fit runners, and also exacerbated by dehydration. All seems to make sense to me. None of these 20 runners died or had any events during the marathon. And, all the cardiac changes resolved and reverted back to normal baseline several months after surgery. The study speculates that this temporary heart damage might explain sudden deaths during marathons, or like the recent death of Fran Crippen during a 10K open water swim competition. While Mr. Crippen was clearly fit and in peak cardiac condition, it sounds like the conditions of the race were arduous, hot, and he was indeed dehydrated.

Here are a few quotes from the article, followed by my quick thoughts.

"We know that regular exercise reduces cardiovascular risk by a factor of two or three in the long run, but while we're doing vigorous exercise such as marathon running, our cardiac risk increases by seven,"

Yes, I can believe that. But, I think it is actually a seven fold transient increase in risk, during exercise. (like the death of swimmer, Fran Crippen) On the other hand, the profound 2-3 fold decrease in cardiovascular risk is permanent, every day for the remainder of your life.

"One 2007 study, published in the British Medical Journal, looked at 30 years of marathon data and put the risk of dying at 0.8 per 100,000 runners. According to the researchers on that study, running a marathon is half as risky as driving the same route on a normal day."

Driving the same route in Los Angeles, the risks of dying might be about equal.


My take home message from this article is that I am aware of the risk. As I've mentioned in my "About Me (& my heart)" page, I know that there is a very small chance that something bad might happen during the few hours that I am running, biking, swimming, or racing. But, I am fairly certain that something equally bad (or worse) will happen someday, while sitting on the couch, being fat and sluggish. I'll go with the lifetime 2-3-fold decrease in my cardiovascular risk, looking better, feeling great, being energetic, playing with my kids, etc.

In the meantime, I always keep a mindful eye on training smartly, safely and being prudent. I will also look into the VO2max parameter, as I am unfamiliar with that. And, be a little more cognizant of avoiding dehydration. When I run, I'm liberal with my walking breaks. Primarily, I am interested in finishing the distance, not hitting a blistering pace or PR.

I know what's at stake, and I don't plan on going anywhere soon. What do you think about this article?

Dreadmill Interval Training?

I'm sick-as-the-proverbial-dog.. so I haven't run since Monday night. Feel like a slug, but that hasn't stopped me from snacking! Finally broke down and started myself on some antibiotics. I need to shake this, so I can get back to running! I gotta get outside and run tomorrow.

So, my super-duper wife is training for the SF marathon, and CIM (Sacramento). She's on a training program and has yet to do any of the intervals, because we/she can not find time to get to a track. (I know, sounds lame). Anyways, she usually goes to the gym early, like 4:30am. Can she do these intervals on the treadmill? Seems like it would actually be easier. The program she is on lists specific distances at specific paces, (eg. 1600M at 7:39 pace, 400M RI, 1200M at 7:30, etc..). I heard people say treadmills are easier than streets or trails, so it's cheating unless you do it at an incline of at least, what? 2-5 degrees?

I think she's 4 or 5 weeks into the program, and hasn't done any hills or repeats, yet!

Starting to get nervous about those SF hills!

Back on Track

Been so busy with a new project at work, so have not been able to post in a few days. But, I've still been running and tracking my diet. I've realized that my geeky nature must really enjoy tracking data.. of any kind. (I run home faster down the final stretch, just to get my Garmin data uploaded!) I've also become just slightly obsessed with tracking my diet on FatSecret. I fudged my RDI (Rec Daily Intake) downward by switching to "Low Active" to bring my RDI down some. 3100 KCal RDI just seemed too high. So long as I'm not weak-and-dizzy, I figure I'm not being too malnourished at an RDI of 2700. Tracking on FatSecret & Calorie Counter has really helped me focus on food choices, and portion control. AND, I weighed-in a bit early, on Saturday morning: 242.4lbs, down 4.8lbs in 5 days?! Are you frickin' kiddin' me? I had to recheck it 3 times. Feel good about that! I'm attributing this to the running and especially the Calorie Counter on my Droid phone. My latest data quest is to now attack the Calorie Breakdown. The recommended "runner's diet" should have about 50% carbs, 25% fats and proteins (does that sound right?). I am APPALLED at my breakdown! While trying to make semi-sensible diet choices and keep it all under 2700 KCal, I seem to be parked at a low protein content, sometimes as low as 15%.. meaning some days, my carb/fat is over 40% each!! Years back, I did Atikins and lost almost 20lbs. I can cut out carbs if I want to.. but I'm surprised at the fat content in everything and how easy it is for fat to sneak into my diet in the most unexpected places. Example, I felt like I ate like a pig yesterday, 48% carbs, 37% fats, ugh, gross.. and I hadn't run since Friday morning. I needed to RUN!!!

My gluttony from yesterday:

So.. my motivation was really sagging last night. But, it's supposed to rain the next few days, and work is only getting crazier this week. So, I forced myself to do some night running (plus my wife said "go run!"). It ended up being nice.. cool evening, quiet, nice shadow running companion. AND.. I took exactly 1 minute off my 10K time from the Seal Beach 10K, finishing my 10K run in 1:29.10
(Whoo Hoo!! does that count as a new PR?)

ALSO, I started to have a few (brief) moments were I actually felt like a 'runner', not some fat guy huffing-n-puffing. I experimented a bit with my running style, like running more upright, with compact arms, and cushioning my impact at a slightly slower/longer stride. Still not running continuously for much more than 3/8-to-half a mile at a stretch.. but I think I'm getting better (slowly). Probably haven't hit that elusive "runner's high" I keep hearing about. I'm a bit worried that lots of the running training programs seem to suggest a running base where I can run continuously for at least 30 minutes. I feel like I'm a ways off from that yet.. still doing the run-walk thing for now. I don't really have a set strategy yet.. should I? I'm just trying to run 10K a week as my long run, and improve my time and overall performance each time.

Today, I feel great.. so, I'm glad I forced myself to go run last night. I'm re-encouraged and re-energized to keep going. I have about 7 weeks until my next 10K, the Wrigley River Run in Long Beach.

Competition?

Here's my competition today. Saw this fierce lil' guy on my way in to work this morning. Made a strong move and passed him, despite my very sore left knee.

Glad it's rainy, because I really can't run today. I did 6.5mi yesterday, mostly brisk walk, with some short runs. Right from the start, my right shin and left knee were making me hate running again. Iced the knee, but it feels a bit wobbly and hurts enough to limp. Lower medial (inner) side of patella, I figure typical patello-femoral pain (runner knee)? I prob need to rest it, but I have to walk and stand a lot next few days. Would a neoprene wrap help any? What do you guys do?

3.25mi Training Run/Walk

Met a local running group tonight. What a fun & positive group of people! Got too caught up in the group run frenzy and started out WAY too fast.. and burned out quick. Had to walk much of the rest, and only did the 3.25 loop when my anterior shins and left knee & hip started to hurt. Grrr... wish I had just stuck to my original paced walk/run plan. But still.. it was FUN!!