Hal Higdon and summer training

Higdon is a pioneer in marathon training and has lots of helpful training schedules and other info on his web site. I tend to use a mixture of his novice and intermediate training schedules. I sometimes drop a short run but try not to miss the long runs. With my summer cold, weird weather, travel schedule, and other stuff, I freaked that I was hopelessly behind. Well not hopelessly anyway. Actually exactly on par for the novice schedule but a bit behind on the intermediate one. Doing my 10 miler this Friday instead of Saturday because of travel plans. Then next week is a cut back week with only a 7 miler as the long run (piece of cake even in the heat and humidity). Then it bumps to 12 and beyond for the rest of the summer until the end of August when the taper begins for the Hamptons marathon on September 24th. A good winter/spring base has covered a variety of sins, but now it gets real.

Train Heavy, Run Light

As I continue to experiment with ultralight running shoes, I am settling into a routine. I am doing most of my training runs in my older regular weight shoes (Brooks Ghost and occasionally Saucony Ride or Glide). I am saving my new ultra-light shoes for the occasional short run. My theory is that if I overdo the super light weight ones, they will become the new normal and I will get no advantage on race days. It is a version of the hedonics branch of behavioral law and economics which suggest humans adapt to new situations (positive or negative) far more quickly that one would expect. So for the moment, that is my story and I am sticking to it.

Error Cost Analysis and Yoga

Today at Bikram we were enjoined not to push too far on the pose in which you kneel, sit between the heels and lie back on the ground. The concern is for the knees. If our knees hurt, we were told, better to err on the side of pushing less than pushing more.

Why? If the knees were hurt it would have long-lasting consequences, we were told. If we didn't push far enough, we could always push further next time.

Sound like a predatory pricing analysis to anybody?

DC Tri

The DC Triathlon was yesterday. We swam 1500 meters in the Potomac River, not nearly as gross as it would have been had you tried it in the 1980s; we rode 40 kilometers in a starfish pattern down Constitution, out E Street, on Whitehurst Freeway past Georgetown, up Rock Creek Parkway, and across Memorial Bridge, times two; and we ran 10 kilometers in a general eastward direction from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol, adding an out-and-back on several intersecting roads to make the distance (and apparently to see monuments, which I didn't). It's a fun race; it's nice to race and be home by 10 a.m.; it's a social event with many of my friends entering.

I'm continually surprised by something when I complete triathlons. Yesterday my swim, an event to which I devote very little training effort, was substantially stronger than normal; my bike, to which I have devoted much effort recently, was weaker than normal; and the run was about what one would expect.

RAAM

Race Across America is underway. Slovenia's Jure Robic, the five-time winner, was killed last year in a bike-on-car collision; for the first time in what seems like many years the conclusion of the solo men's race is in doubt. (Robic did not win in 2009 after dropping out a very short distance from the end in protest of a penalty, almost literally giving what would have been his fifth victory away.)

Here is the link to the leaderboard.

And here is an amazing statistic: as of the time of posting, the leader, Christoph Strasser of Switzerland, has averaged nearly 16 mph over the 1878 miles from Oceanside, California, to Jefferson City, Missouri -- an average rate that includes any down-time he takes. For geography nuts, yes, that means he has crossed the Mojave Desert, the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. (Comparison? I was reasonably pleased with a 17 mph average for the 112 miles bike leg of Ironman St. George last month.)

A Run in Norwich

Finished a very good 2 day conference at University of East Anglia on consumers and competition. Interesting combination of survey and field experiemnts
in behavioral economics. Very little law. Fascinated by talk by political scientist from Harvard Business School on attitudes and availability of consumer
credit in US and France in 20th century. Conference was in the UEA drama studio and conference dinner in stadium club of local soccer club (just promoted
to Premier league). Before 1st day did a 5 mile run along the river with an economist from Texas AM where we saw
many of the sites (cathedral, castle, cow tower). And this morning went for a 90 minute ramble along the river in the other direction. Found some great
trails, paths along the river and through the woods between Norwich and Drayton. Stumbled onto a marsh with a couple of dozen horses and foals. Appeared to
be a true commons (quick someone call Eleanor Ostrom or Brett Ostrom). A great start to my day offan training to London, taking in a show, a good Indian meal,
And then home tomorrow. Then back to real work, undoing student edits to my corp gov piecean and finishing the annual update to my treatise.

Yoga

P__ and a friend started taking Bikram yoga classes. Those are the 90-minute sessions in a heated room with a prescribed sequence of 26 poses, each of which you repeat before moving to the next one. Bikram starts standing with some balance poses and then moves to the mat for stretching poses. It's a remarkable experience.

The friend dropped out and starting last week I'm filling in. My goal is to supplement triathlon training, improve my (currently abysmal) flexibility, forestall injuries and maybe lose weight. One week in, I'm pleased. But it's quite humbling. Apparently very little about running, cycling and swimming prepares one for locked-leg arms to sky pivot on hip until body and leg are parallel to the floor . . .