Chasing the Dragon

Tonight’s run should put me over 180 miles for May which puts it in my top five best months.  I only missed three days and averaged about 5.8 miles per day.  So why can’t I shake this feeling that I’m slacking off? 

Actually I know why.  No long runs.  I only had one true long run all month and only three runs in excess of ten miles.  Five milers just don’t give me that fix I need anymore.

The phrase “chasing the dragon” came to mind and a few key strokes later I found a definition on urbandictionary.com which I have only slightly modified below:

This term is a bit more complicated than merely "runner’s high." It starts when you have your first long run, the world is peaceful, everything is perfect, you're numb, but in the best way possible. But, soon, it starts wearing off. Fast. Your mind races, you're pulled out of your dream world. You crave the run more and more, wanting to feel the same way as you did on your first long run. You go to the shoe dealer and buy the shoes you used the first time, and run. Still feels good, but not as good as the first time. You go and run more. Closer, but not quite there. You're stuck, you don't know what to do. You want to go back to that little dream world and stay forever, but your body is already developing a tolerance. You panic. You use all your time to run more and more and more, but still, not enough. You realize that you have no more time, so you stop doing other things, running whenever you can to get you that next fix. It's still not enough.  You crave more.  So, you're broke and own nothing. But you don't care, all you care about is running. Your life becomes a living hell, all in search of that next runner’s high. That's chasing the dragon.

Sound familiar?

Things that make you go hmmm . . .

I feel like I need to apologize for my last blog entry. It was kind of a downer and not typical of my usual optimism.

The hectic schedule of my non-running life keeps interfering with my running plans and I have been having trouble finding a race that fits well into my calendar. Combine that with a minor bout with runner’s knee and a couple of light weeks to heal and I was surprised by the dramatic effect on my mood.

An 18 mile long run this morning helped to set things right again and my spirits are lifted.

Which makes one wonder, if 18 miles makes me feel this good, could I run nearly twice that distance?

Hmmm . . . .

A Journey of 500 Miles

I officially started my marathon training 17 weeks ago on July 26. An eight mile run this morning brought my total mileage to 525 since starting this journey.



You can view my training plan, as well as the actual mileage I ran, here.

With one week left, I can honestly say that I feel ready. I had highs and lows throughout my training, but I’m happy to say I am ending on a high. I thought that I would feel beat up and run down at this point, but instead I feel better than I have in a long time. My last few long runs went extremely well and I finished each one feeling stronger, more confident, and remarkably pain free.  I know much of this success is due to the support and advice I recieved since joining the West Volusia Running Group and I owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

Next week, I expect I’ll look back and scrutinize my training to figure out what worked well and what did not.  But for now I will sit back, relax, and try to enjoy a week of rest and gluttony.

Seven more days until the Space Coast Marathon!

Basking in the Afterglow

I’m fresh out of an ice bath, bingeing on pastries and coffee, and celebrating the completion of a glorious 19.1 mile run this morning. This was my longest run to date and capped off a 42 mile week, also a record.



Everything went well this morning. I had no knee pain, or any signifciant pain for that matter.  I even had enough energy left at the end of the run to pick up my pace for the last three miles.  I had my hydration perfected.  I ate well in preparation for the run.  The temperature was in the 60's for the entire time.   I couldn't have wished for a better run.

For my last two long runs I have been eating Powerbar Energy Gel Blasts. I got free samples of these after my last few races and finally decided to give them a try. I like them much better than Gu and will keep using them for now. After the first few miles, I start popping one every mile or so and that seems to work well. They have a much better taste than Gu and a texture very similar to Gummi Bears. I look forward to eating them, like candy, as opposed to Gu which I down with reluctance every time. They do take a minute to chew and swallow which can be a little difficult when you are breathing heavy.

I am confident that I will be able to finish 20 miles next week but the thought of having to run another hour in order to finish 26.2 has me a little nervous.

Six more weeks until the Space Coast Marathon!

Saucony ProGrid Kinvara – First Impressions

I decided to risk straying from my usual support running shoes and try a more minimalist shoe. After a lot of research and several recommendations, I chose the Saucony ProGrid Kinvara.

As you can see, I opted for a little flare.

I was unable to find a local source for this shoe, so this was also the first time I ordered shoes online. I ordered them from Running Warehouse for only $65 after a 15% discount (thanks again Jim). That great price even included free 2 day delivery.

My current favorite shoe is the Asics Gel 1150, classified as a support shoe. I was fit for these using the traditional treadmill gait analysis for pronation and they have proved reliable and comfortable. I was happy enough with them to buy a second pair. With well over 300 miles in them between the two pairs I have no complaints, but probably like most runners, I can’t help but wonder if there is something better out there.

The Kinvaras are classified as performance neutral. They are very light, weighing in about 4 ounces under my Asics. That is the first thing you notice when you try them on. They offer some cushioning, but noticbly less than my Asics. They also are much flatter with a smaller heal rise (4mm as compared to 10mm on my Asics).

I think this shoe runs a little narrower than my Asics. The fit was a little snug wearing my usual thick Thorlo running socks on my size 11 dogs. When I switched to thinner Experias, the fit was perfect. The Experias could become my new favorite sock if they prove to be as durable as the thicker Thorlos.

I wore the Kinvaras for the first time on a 4 mile run this morning. There is a lot of hype about these shoes online, and about minimalist shoes in general, but I tried to keep my expectations reasonable.

I was very pleased with the feel of the shoe while running. My online buddy and fellow DoppelLaufer Virtual Racer, JimDo64 from the Active.com running forums, described the sensation as being able to “feel the roadness,” eloquently stated and I don’t think I can improve on that description.

Will these shoes automatically improve my running form? Probably not, but the shoes did make me feel more aware of my form. It was easier to feel my footstrike and to therefore make adjustments. I didn’t miss the extra support at all, but time will tell whether this will still be true during longer runs.

I ran the first two miles at a fairly comfortable 9:00 pace and when I pushed that up to 7:41 for the third mile, the shoes performed really well. The faster pace did seem easier, but that could be equally attributable to cooler temperatures. Still, I’m excited to try these in a race.

I am looking forward to testing these on longer runs and if they work well, I may even wear them for the Daytona Beach Half Marathon at the end of the month.

More to come.

Hobbled

I think I overdid it last weekend. A PR in a 5k on Saturday followed by a 16 mile long on Sunday = a sore knee on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday . . . .

Needless to say my mileage is way down this week.  I rested Monday and Tuesday, got in a slow 3 mile recovery run on Wednesday, and another slow 2 miles this morning. The first 1.5 miles this morning was pain free, so it looks like its improving.

I’ll take it easy this weekend, skip the 17 miles I had scheduled for Sunday and hope the rest will be enough to put things right again.

All this rest is driving me crazy. I think running has become an addiction.

It’s the little things that drive you crazy on long runs.

These are things that you may not even notice in every day life but become infuriatingly bothersome after miles of pounding pavement.

The tip of your shoelace bumping your ankle with every step

A rough seam on your clothing rubbing your skin.

A wrinkle in your socks under your foot.

Shorts riding up your thighs.

Nipples rubbing on the fabric of your shirt.

I could go on.

Last weekend it was my spibelt.

I was sore after running 15 miles but I pretty much recovered within 24 hours, except for one thing - an abrasion on my stomach rubbed raw by my spibelt.

I’ve worn this belt on nearly every run since I bought it last November. It survived a half marathon and spring training that took me on runs as long as 19 miles. I have close to 1000 miles logged wearing this thing and it never gave me trouble – not once.

For some reason on Sunday it rubbed the flesh right off my stomach and I can’t figure out why. I felt for a rough spot or seam but couldn’t find any. I didn’t carry anything unusual, just a cell phone and the key fob for my car. I have adjusted it periodically as my waist has shrunk over time, so maybe it was just sitting on a new spot on my waist.

It isn’t a huge sore, just a couple of inches long but it’s like a nagging paper cut. It keeps getting rubbed by the waistline of my pants every time I move. It’s not like it’s actually painful, it’s just a nagging irritant that won’t go away, even after four days.

I love this belt. It is one of my favorite pieces of running gear. Like a magician’s hat, the little pouch has a miraculously large storage capacity and holds its contents snugly against your body without bouncing around. So I’m not giving up on it yet. I’ll adjust the tightness a bit and see if it will sit differently on my hips.

I suppose testing gear like this is one of the functions of a long training run. But that doesn’t make it any less maddening.

Post Script

On my next run I looked closely at where my Spibelt sits on my waist and figured out what happened. The belt was flipped inside out so that the zipper and a small label at the corner of the pouch were against my skin instead of facing out. It was the label that rubbed my skin. Since I never had to access the contents of the pouch and didn’t notice the chafing until after I finished running, it must have stayed that way for the entire 15 miles. I am 100% satisfied with my Spibelt and didn’t want anyone to think I was criticizing it because of my whining in the above post.