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Sunday I had the pleasure of running The Hottest Half down at White Rock Lake in Dallas. It was a 1/2 marathon-10k event that brought out over 600 runners for the half and nearly 300 for the 10k. A nice turnout for a local road event in the balmy Texas heat.

This morning highlighted the typical weather we have had for much of the summer - hot and humid. Regardless, it was still a fun day to run with a bunch of other crazies.

The course basically worked the east side of the lake and I was a bit concerned that it would be kind of a boring and confusing course. It turned out to be a very fun route and unlike the typical “run around the lake”.

I ran the first four miles in more of a “cruise” mode and then a guy came up next to me and asked if I minded if he hung with me. I said “not a problem” and maybe we could inspire each other. As you can see from my mile splits below the pace gradually picked up until the last couple of miles where the pace dropped a bit. It actually was a blast working together to real people in and felt much easier than doing it solo for some reason.

                                 the data

I didn’t even want to look at my watch after each mile because I knew we were going at a decent clip for me especially since I have been training for an ultra with no speed work. Those last couple miles is where my race buddy and I separated. He actually slowed a bit at an aid station and never caught up…until the final 50 meters and he passed me. I congratulated him on catching back up and told him to go get the guy in front of us…he did.

The finish was a nice little uphill grind that made you earn that finishers medal. Good stuff!

I finished with a time of 1:33:16 (chip time). The rest of the race results can be seen here.

You can check out the rest of my Garmin data here.

Afterwards, there was cold beer, water, other drinks, fruit, energy bars, and some breakfast burritos! Enough goodies to quickly replenish those carbohydrate stores.

Thanks to the RD and volunteers for doing an amazing event!

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Have you ever wondered if you are running efficiently? Could you run faster just by changing your form a bit? Do you have a reoccurring injury and just can’t seem to explain it?

I was a bit curious of these questions and on Saturday I visited a Koala Health & Wellness Center and had a gait analysis performed. This basically consisted of running on a treadmill at a moderate pace while two cameras (one at my side and one behind me) recorded my every stride.

We then sat and went through the footage in slow motion addressing my running form from head to feet.

What did I learn?

Surprisingly, most of my running form looked fairly good and textbook. Boring! I guess that is kind of nice to hear but I was looking for some drama. What is wrong with me? Fix me doc!

Now the good stuff.

Issue #1 - Wrists slightly twisted inwards while I run

How does this little nuance affect your running? Well, your elbows will bow out a bit more and your arms will move across your body which is a bit less efficient when you are trying to move your body in a forward direction. The second note-worthy and maybe even more important item is that tension is increased in your shoulders.

When I ran with my wrists in a more vertical position, my elbows moved closer to my body and arms moved in more of a forward-backwards motion. Plus my shoulders felt much more relaxed. The feeling is almost immediate. Over the distance of a marathon or longer, I would think this could have a huge impact. Cool stuff!

Issue #2 - Right heal consistently finished higher than left heal

What does this tell me? A fare probability that my right hamstring is stronger than my left. Muscle imbalance.

Issue #3 - Right foot extends farther back than left foot

What does this tell me? A fare probability that my right quad is stronger than my left. Muscle imbalance.

The Next Step

Issue #1 is addressed with some awareness on my part. Issue #2 and #3 are going to be further validated with a 45 minute muscle testing session which will test the entire body for muscle imbalances and from those results a training program will be created to balance and strengthen my weaknesses. I may even turn into a superhero, who knows.

An interesting side note is that periodically I have issues with my left knee. So I wonder if the muscle imbalance is the culprit for this pesky tweak?

When it is all said and done, will I run any faster? That probably will be hard to validate unless I suddenly start running 5:00 min/miles for my easy runs - won’t happen!

But…

Is moving your arms mostly in the desired direction of movement a good thing? I think yes.

Are relaxed shoulders a good thing? I think yes.

Are balanced muscles a good thing? I think yes.

I must say I really liked the gait analysis experience and even learned a few things. I will let you know the outcome of the muscle testing in the coming weeks.

It also would be interesting to observe my characteristics at various effort levels (easy, moderate, hard) and check for any differences. Maybe down the road, I will give that a try.

For those that have had a gait analysis, how was your experience? What did you learn?

Happy Training!

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I am no longer talking about 6 hour rides, more like 15-30 minutes so far. You gotta start somewhere.

We recently purchased the iBert Safe-T-Seat so that we all can go for some rides together now that the weather will be gradually cooling off in the south.

The biggest challenge of this entire adventure was getting Griffin comfortable sitting in the little seat. We ended up putting a stuffed animal (bunny) with Griffin’s helmet on the seat to show him what it would be like. It worked! Getting the helmet on was a bit more work but before long he was pointing out every car, truck, plane, and dog. I think he was lovin it and so was I.

Here are a couple pics from our ride. Ibert review coming soon.

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I was watching the women’s Olympic marathon and heard the announcers talking about the Chinese imitating the Japanese in eating their main meal three hours before the start of the marathon.

Hmm, that sounds familiar. Hammer Nutrition recommends this same protocol in their Endurance Sports Nutrition - Fueling Handbook. Check out the Pre-Race Meal chapter to get all of the details and here is the overview from this chapter below:

1. The title is somewhat of misnomer,
   because you don’t really need a
   full-fledged meal, just a snack to top
   off your liver glycogen. Your muscle
   glycogen, the first fuel recruited
   when exercise begins, does not
   deplete overnight.
2. You don’t need a big meal. You
   don’t need much protein, if any.
   You don’t need fiber. You need
   little, if any fat, and you want zero
   saturated fat. This isn’t the time
   for a fully-balanced, healthy meal.
   You primarily want easy to digest
   complex carbs.
3. Whatever you eat, finish a
   good three hours before race
   time to allow adequate time for
   digestion, absorption, and your
   blood glucose regulation system
   to normalize.
4. Pre-exercise hunger is not a
   sign of depleted glycogen; you
   can begin a workout or race when
   hungry. Once you get going, the
   hunger will stop. You do, however,
   want a full load of muscle glycogen,
   and that only comes from months
   of endurance training and proper
   recovery nutrition. You will not gain
   anything (except weight) by carboloading
   before a race.
5. A good pre-race snack might
   consist of a serving or two of
   Hammer Gel, a serving of Sustained
   Energy or Perpetuem, a bagel, a
   baked potato, or some combination
   of these.

For all longer events like a marathon, this protocol has worked for me. I also like a liquid carbohydrate breakfast. For shorter events, the recommendations differ a bit as noted in the guide.

Happy Training!

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I was in the grocery store and took a look at the label of the powdered version of a popular sports drink. Two items on the list really stuck out at me:

• Red #40
• Partially Hydrogenated Coconut oil

Read the labels of all products you buy! Do your own research but I wouldn’t recommend putting either of these items into your body.

Here are a few online articles I found on these ingredients:

Artificial Food Dyes Linked to Behavior Problems

What’s Wrong with Partially Hydrogenated Oils?

Mercola Article on the Dangers of Trans Fats

Happy Training!

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The US women’s gymnastics team took home a silver medal. I repeat, a silver medal. That means they are the second best team in the world on the biggest stage for this sport. That is pretty darn good! Let’s not forget that most, if not all, are teenagers and amateurs!

Shouldn’t we be proud of our team and celebrate their achievement? I don’t care if they were the top team in the world prior to the start of the competition. Stuff happens. They had a few mistakes, they would be the first to admit it, but they persevered, never gave up, and took home the silver medal.

Isn’t that the real story, the real message to take away…not ‘you lose, you suck’?

Did this interview with U.S. gymnast Alicia Sacramone sadden you as much as it did me? I have not seen any professional athlete treated this poorly in an interview. If it would have occurred, they would have left before the interview was complete and have included a few choice words.

Alicia, you acted beyond a professional and are a much stronger person than most. Be proud of your silver medal and congratulations!

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Ultra-runner and fitness promoter Dean Karnazes completed that crazy adventure of 50 marathons in 50 days back in 2006 while trying to inspire others to get off the couch and move the body. Most probably thought he was a nut (aren’t all endurance athletes) but I bet there are a good number exercising today thanks to Dean.

During Dean’s jog across the country, Journeyfilm followed his every step with camera(s) in hand. With all this footage, an inspirational film was created called 50 Marathons. The film was recently in theaters for only one night. Unfortunately I was not able to watch it but the trailer looks pretty interesting. Check it out! I assume the film will eventually be available for purchase.

Those that had watched the film, what did you think of it?

While stretching and completing his ice baths Dean found a bit of time to write a book on this journey as well, called 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days. It has just recently become available but based on the description, it looks like it will contain plenty of insights and tips and how he was able to keep things rollin’ across this seeming impossible challenge. Even though most of us won’t be coming close to running 50 marathons in 50 days, there will still probably be some beneficial nuggets to help us in our endurance adventures. I am sure there will be some interesting stories as well.

Has anyone read the book yet, thoughts?

Competitor Radio also did an interview with Dean prior to the release of the film. Listen to the man himself here. You can definitely sense the enjoyment in what he does. Good for him!

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I have always enjoyed watching the highest level of sport such as the World Series, Superbowl, or Hawaii Ironman. The Olympics provide a continuous display from those athletes at the highest level of their particular sport. The interesting thing is you don’t have to be familiar with the sport to be able to appreciate the display of excellence.

If you are following the Olympics or have a beating heart, you have probably seen this already but it is worth seeing again - The 4×100 Men’s Free Swim Relay.

Enjoy the rest of the games!

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Blah basically sums up last week. I didn’t have much spunk in the legs and I was more tired in general for the first half of the week. The previous four week build probably had something to do with that.

This reduced volume week basically consisted of getting it done.

The goof ball event of the week occurred during a trail run when I was surprised by a big spider web going across the trail. I saw the web a split second before running into it and somehow I was able to immediately stop my forward motion. I bailed to the ground and scraped one knee up a bit. What a wuss! I ended up driving home with a bloody knee.

I also purchased Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail to become more familiar with the trail before the race.

The Weekly Low-Down:

run: 35.17 miles (5 sessions: 6 miles-easy, 8 miles-easy, 6 miles- 4×1 mile at Threshold, 6 miles - easy/trail, 9.17 mile-easy/trail)

bike: 40 mins

weights/core: 1 sessions

Happy Training!

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I have arrived to the conclusion of my four week block of training. It ended with my highest weekly mileage of training this year (68.94 miles) and included some exciting and humbling training days.

Saturday I re-visited Lake Grapevine and took on this trail which has been kicking my butt for the previous two weeks. Finally, finally, I had the feeling that I could actually run this trail beyond 9 miles and not look like the shuffling dead. It was a great feeling to know that I still had a couple gears that I was not accessing. My fitness is finally starting to catch up with the training!

Sunday, well, it just hurt. You gotta love how you can feel invincible one day and the very next like poo. I am talking a lot of poo! The temps were 100+ and the four hour run turned very real after about 30 minutes. This is going to be a long, long run. Even when the sun disappeared below the horizon, I could not get on track. The water in my hand-held began to boil because it was so flippin hot. I could taste sand, dirt, and car exhaust as it coated the inside of my desert-like mouth.

I was fantasizing about eating the watermelon sitting in the fridge when I got home. W-a-t-e-r-m-e-l-o-n…cold W-a-t-e-r-m-e-l-o-n. Delirious? Not completely, but I have been better.

I positive split the run by 15 minutes. Nothing like four hours of mental training which just might prove useful someday.

The Superior Trail 50 miler is now a short 4 weeks away and my training plan says to taper…I taper. No point in changing course now.

The Weekly Low-Down:

run: 68.94 miles (5 sessions: 8 miles-easy, 6 miles-easy, 6 miles- 4×1 mile at Threshold, 24.54 miles - easy/trail, 24.40 mile-easy/road)

bike: 40 mins

weights/core: 1 sessions

Happy Training!

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