Mental Challenge

I can't believe I haven't blogged since New Year's Day. I hope that 2011 is off to good, if not great, start for everyone. Old Man Winter has reared it's ugly head a few times already making running outside difficult. Most of us are not the biggest fans of the treadmill. I, for one, feel like a hamster on its wheel. We go through the motions of running without going anywhere. I don't care what's on TV or what music you listen to to help pass the time, it's still not a substitute for being outside, inhaling fresh air and noticing the subtleties of the neighborhoods we run in. However, safety always comes first. If the roads are not safe, I always take my run inside rather than risk an injury.

My assigned run for this past Tuesday was 1:30 in heart rate zone with a 3 minute finishing surge. That's a long time to be on a treadmill. I got it done, running 10.36 miles (8:41 average mile pace). As I was writing my post-run thoughts to Coach Jeff, I saw the silver lining in running that long on the treadmill. The marathon is just as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. I had no problem running the distance physically, the hard part was focusing mentally. If I lost focus for one second this could have happened:

In all seriousness, I learned from Tuesday's treadmill run that marathon training is not just about the mile repeats, tempo runs, and long slow distance, it's also about making sure you're dialed in mentally so that you remember everything you need to do to run a successful race.

Thaw, Refreeze, Repeat

That's kind of what I'm dealing with these days. See, the temperatures during the day have been warm enough to start melting the snow from last week's storm. However, it's still been quite cold at night causing whatever melted during the day to refreeze and form many slick spots on the road. In case you are reading for the first time, I am an early morning runner. For now that means that some or all of my mid-week runs are done in the dark. The last thing I need is to slip and break another rib (or worse) while out on one of my faster mid-week runs. This, plus the fact that my local high school track is still buried under a few inches of snow, adds up to me spending more time than I would like on the treadmill. I've grown to accept the  treadmill for what it is, a tool. Doing speedwork or road intervals on the treadmill is somewhat enjoyable. I would much rather run outside, but safety always comes first.

Using the Treadmill as a Tool

Something Matt said on his podcast resonated with me as I tried to figure out how I was going to get Friday's run in. Friday's run called for 25 minutes in zone 2 on slightly uphill terrain and then run back for 25 minutes in zone 4 on what should be slightly downhill terrain. There was still a good deal of snow and ice on the ground from Wednesday's storm. The combination of the 25 at a fast clip, the ice, and the fact that it's still dark out in the morning, forced my run inside to the gym.

This is where Matt's message comes in. Matt was also forced inside due to record snowfall in Washington, D.C. He said that rather than viewing the treadmill as the "treadmill" (or "hamster wheel" as I sometimes call it), view it as a tool. I think most of us will agree that running on the treadmill at the same pace and incline is quite boring (even with TV). However, increasing/decreasing the speed and/or incline on the treadmill can result in quite the productive run. So with an open mind, I went to the gym knowing exactly how I was going to simulate my run. I set the treadmill's incline to 1.5 to simulate the slightly up-hill terrain and its speed to about an 8:50 pace. even though I was inside, I wore my Garmin to monitor my heart rate. For the first 25 minutes, the pace felt nice and comfortable and my Garmin confirmed that I was consistently in zone 2. After 25 minutes, I dropped the treadmill's incline to 0.5 to simulate the slightly downhill terrain and cranked up the speed to a 7:30 pace. This was a nice hard pace with my heart rate in the mid to upper 170s for the full 25 minutes. I cooled down and headed home pleased with the effort. Total mileage (based on the treadmill display) was 6 miles in 51:55.

I don't think I could do long, slow, distance on the treadmill but if there's a specific workout that I need to do, and conditions preclude me from getting it done outside, I know the treadmill can produce some decent results.

Junk Miles vs. A Bad Run

I missed my morning run this morning. I'm not exactly sure why. The only thing that comes to mind was I didn't sleep particularly well and didn't feel like dragging my ass out of bed at 5:00 a.m. Instead, I tossed and turned in bed for a good part of the next hour when I started to get ready for work.

I brought my running stuff with me to work so I could run some tempo miles on treadmills in my office's fitness center. I set the TM to my usual tempo pace (around 7:50/mi) and hoped for the best. Everything about the run was wrong. I had a hard time focusing, my running podcasts were not enough to distract me. I felt like I had to rush so I can get back to my desk on time. The miles I ran today are not going in my log. I'm considering them junk miles and ignoring them.

I tweeted about it later and received a bunch of replies saying "Well at least you did something, which more than most of America is doing."

Which brings me to my question: Is there a difference between a bad run and "junk" miles? Are junk miles ran better than no miles ran? 

Please comment.

Safety First

Winter finally showed it's ugly face by dumping 8 inches of snow on my town (some place got a lot more) Saturday night into Sunday. Once the snow stopped, plows started coming through and pushing the snow to sides of the streets and many sidewalks were not yet shoveled. I needed to get some miles in, so rather than playing chicken with the plows, I moseyed over to the gym for a treadmill run. I wasn't looking forward to doing 7 miles on a treadmill but I took Matt's advice and kept an open mind. Thanks to the Run Run Live and Run Digger Run Podcasts, the experience wasn't so bad. I finished the 7 mile in 57:19 for an 8:11 pace.

Last night as I was walking home from the bus stop, I made sure to look at the conditions of the roads and sidewalks. There was still lots of snow on the side of the street and the most people did a bare bones shoveling. On top of that, people started to park their cars on the street again instead of in their driveways. WHY????? YOUR HOUSE HAS A DRIVEWAY PLEASE USE IT!!!!

All of these factors, coupled with the fact that I run in early in the morning when it's still dark, do not make for very safe running conditions. So this morning, I went back to gym for a 4.5 mile tempo run on the treadmill. Fortunately, I had Brandon's newest podcast to keep me company. I did today's run (4.5mi) in 34:55 for an 7:45 pace. I hope I'll be able to get out for my other mid-week runs, if I can't, it's OK too. I don't want to risk slipping or something worse. I am thinking about getting a pair of Yaktrax but they wouldn't solve this particular problem. The streets are in good condition, the bottom line is, it's not safe. Between the snow, the parked cars, and the cars on the road, there isn't enough room for me to run.

Happy Father's Day

I was supposed to run the NYRR 5mi Father's Day Run Against Prostate Cancer this morning. I woke up around 5:00 to start getting ready and heard the pitter-patter of rain on my air conditioner. Right then and there, I decided not to go into NYC for the race. I tired to go back to sleep but I couldn't. In the past, today would have been one of those days where I would not have gotten any miles in at all. Fortunately, my wife's gym was running a special where she could add a family member for $10 extra per month. So this morning, I went to the gym at 7:00 and ran a 10k on the treadmill.

I'm OK with the decision not to race. I've had a stressful week at work and I haven't been sleeping well. Last thing I need is to get sick from hanging out in the rain before the race. If I have nothing planned, maybe I'll run next week's Achilles Hope and Possibility 5mi My parents, brother, sister-in-law, and niece, are supposed to come over later for a BBQ. I'm praying the rain will hold off so I can cook outside.

Lastly, Happy Father's Day to all the fathers who read this blog. Enjoy your day!

Keeping Things Interesting

Since I was unsure of this morning's weather, I packed my bag with both outdoor gear and indoor gear. As I was doing this, my wife, knowing that I might have to run inside today, asked me if I enjoyed running on the treadmill. The TM bores me to death, even if there's something good on TV. I would much rather go for a run in sub-freezing temperatures than run on the TM. If you are forced inside, there are ways to keep it interesting. My wife is used to seeing people walking or running at the same pace on the TM. so these are 3 examples I gave her on how to keep things interesting if you're ever forced inside on the TM

1) Progression Run: this is the workout I did today. I started my run at an 8:20/pace for the first 2 miles. the next mile I ran at an 8:00 minute pace. the last mile I ran at a 7:53 pace followed by 5 minute cool down. I wanted to do a 5th mile at a 7:45 pace but time didn't allow today.

2) Intervals: If you can't get out to the track, you can use the TM to simulate your speed intervals. Start with a 2 mile warmup and a comfortable pace. You can then do 400m (1/4 mile), 800m (1/2 mile), or 1600m (1 mile) intervals just as you would on the track. Make sure you recover enough in between intervals.

3) Hill Training: The TM is also great for simulating hill training. One of my favorite hill workouts (courtesy of Men's Health Magazine) on the TM is run at pace slightly slower than your 10K pace and do the following:

• 1st half mile at 1% incline
• next half mile at 2% incline
• next half mile at 5% incline
• next half mile at 2% incline
• next half mile at 8%. If you can't do this right away, don't worry. Try and build up to it.
• next half mile at 2% incline
• next half mile at 5% incline
• last half mile at 2% incline.

Feel free to extend the distance of the run by following the same pattern. If the speed feels easy, by all means increase the speed.

Feel free to share your favorite TM workouts.