This is my favorite time of year and NBC Sports (formerly Versus) is my favorite cable channel. Wimbledon. Tour de France. and coming in August English Premier League Football. Just awesome, particularly as the Tour enters the Pyrenees for insane climbs at the end of 200 kilometer rides. Thrilling to watch Nairo Quintana the young Columbia take the first big climb of the tour summiting at 6500 feet altitude, a mere three thousand feet below the altitude of the town in the Andes where he grew up. Then even more amazing watching Chris Froome (the favorite) and Richie Porte (the second best rider on Froome's team) overtake Quintana and finish one/two on the second climb at the end of the stage to also go one two on the leader board for the overall tour. This is the only sport that makes me tired just watching it.
And to complete my un-American Fourth of July celebration, I am taking the family to seeing an international exhibition featuring Lionel Messi, plus some indefinite number of international stars play an exhibition match in Soldier Field with various ex-college folks to round out the teams.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
Grousing about Triathlon
I've spent much of this year grousing about triathlon (for example . . .) I've more or less concluded that this is the last year I spend the time and money signing up for and participating in this Franken-sport. A short list of serious gripes:
1. It's expensive. The triathlon equivalent of a 10K -- the Olympic distance -- is a $95 event for a small race and can run into the $200 range for a big production like the Nation's Triathlon. (Ted, how about NYC?) That's before the gear, the travel, and the training requirements. (Running? I can find expensive marathons, but the par for a half marathon or shorter is $50 or less.)
2. It's a pain in the neck. Even for a local race I have to commit the entire weekend to getting gear together, showing up early to rack the bike and to let somebody write on my legs and arms with a permanent marker, racing, and rewinding all of the above. For a remote race think more like four days. (Running? Except for silly permit requirements on federal land, it's the norm for me to show up the morning of, to sign up, and to race.)
3. Training is a pain in the neck. Basically I train for two different sports. (Swimming comes along for the ride.) I can run a marathon PR on ~40 miles/week of run training. An ironman requires that same run mileage plus ~150 miles/week on the bike, and then some. Because of the onerous training requirements, there is a huge premium on quality over quantity. Note that does not mean training is made any easier. Quality can briefly be described as "whatever is most uncomfortable to you at the time."
4. The sport is very top-down. Every race I run is certified in some way by USA Triathlon. I need to be a member of USA Triathlon to compete. The problem is that USA Triathlon is an abysmally run outfit. I've now signed up twice this year and will need to fight with that organization to have my second membership refunded. I look forward to the day when the major promotors separate from USAT entirely. (Running races frequently are certified by USA Track and Field, but that organization imposes much less in the way of direct obligations on participants. My guess is that most races would be perfectly happy without USATF certification so the governing body has minimal leverage.)
5. Triathletes tend to preen. The gear is pretty. Uni-suits are bought to match bicycles. I know at least one guy who paid big money for custom paint work on his helmet. There's a whole lot of talk about whose position is most aero. Amazingly, those factors can overcome raw race times -- many the athlete has worried more about a monster bike split than s/he has about the overall time. (Running: have you ever heard somebody say "sure, she's faster, but she's a heel-striker so it doesn't count."?)
There may be more serious complaints. There are certainly myriad comedic ones. Perhaps you all can help to hold me to this: after Timberman (August), Nation's (September), and Lake Tahoe (September) -- barring my qualifying for a championship event -- I'm done at least until the end of 2014.
1. It's expensive. The triathlon equivalent of a 10K -- the Olympic distance -- is a $95 event for a small race and can run into the $200 range for a big production like the Nation's Triathlon. (Ted, how about NYC?) That's before the gear, the travel, and the training requirements. (Running? I can find expensive marathons, but the par for a half marathon or shorter is $50 or less.)
2. It's a pain in the neck. Even for a local race I have to commit the entire weekend to getting gear together, showing up early to rack the bike and to let somebody write on my legs and arms with a permanent marker, racing, and rewinding all of the above. For a remote race think more like four days. (Running? Except for silly permit requirements on federal land, it's the norm for me to show up the morning of, to sign up, and to race.)
3. Training is a pain in the neck. Basically I train for two different sports. (Swimming comes along for the ride.) I can run a marathon PR on ~40 miles/week of run training. An ironman requires that same run mileage plus ~150 miles/week on the bike, and then some. Because of the onerous training requirements, there is a huge premium on quality over quantity. Note that does not mean training is made any easier. Quality can briefly be described as "whatever is most uncomfortable to you at the time."
4. The sport is very top-down. Every race I run is certified in some way by USA Triathlon. I need to be a member of USA Triathlon to compete. The problem is that USA Triathlon is an abysmally run outfit. I've now signed up twice this year and will need to fight with that organization to have my second membership refunded. I look forward to the day when the major promotors separate from USAT entirely. (Running races frequently are certified by USA Track and Field, but that organization imposes much less in the way of direct obligations on participants. My guess is that most races would be perfectly happy without USATF certification so the governing body has minimal leverage.)
5. Triathletes tend to preen. The gear is pretty. Uni-suits are bought to match bicycles. I know at least one guy who paid big money for custom paint work on his helmet. There's a whole lot of talk about whose position is most aero. Amazingly, those factors can overcome raw race times -- many the athlete has worried more about a monster bike split than s/he has about the overall time. (Running: have you ever heard somebody say "sure, she's faster, but she's a heel-striker so it doesn't count."?)
There may be more serious complaints. There are certainly myriad comedic ones. Perhaps you all can help to hold me to this: after Timberman (August), Nation's (September), and Lake Tahoe (September) -- barring my qualifying for a championship event -- I'm done at least until the end of 2014.
And the winner for the Waller fall marathon is ...
the California International Marathon, December 8th, Sacramento. Why International? Who knows? But a gentle 400 foot descent over the length of the course. And Max approved! Plus I can do my long runs in the late fall instead of the heat of the summer. Just hope I make it to the start line in one piece.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
New Personal Worst
I never even liked 5Ks when I was doing regular speed work. Today was a good reminder of why they are even worse when your body doesn't have another gear. I drove far into the suburbs of MD to run at the same pace I ran my ten-miler in the spring. Yes, it was ridiculously humid, which has always bothered me, but I just couldn't get into race mode. It was like I was moving in slow motion. I'm trying not to let it get me down...but it's always an ego blow. Will use it as a baseline to see if I can teach my body to change gears.
Happy 4th from the nation's capital of humidity!
Happy 4th from the nation's capital of humidity!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Eating
My s-i-l A__ shared with me this story about a number of high performance endurance athletes' shift to the "paleo diet," which emphasizes higher-than-normal amounts of fat and protein and lower-than-normal amounts of carbohydrates. The general idea seems to be to train your body to run on fat (for stamina) and to consume protein to maintain muscular strength (for explosive power). I'm tempted to say "ugh, another fad" -- but (a) it makes so much sense, (b) Dave Zabriskie,Tim Olson, and Simon Whitfield make pretty good spokesmen, and (c) let's get real -- high carbs was a fad once, too. Part of my interest is in the line about putting off the effects of aging -- I noticed my first gray hairs just the other week. One more thing: if I read this to mean that I can carry beef jerky instead of gel packs when running, I'm sold regardless of performance benefits!
Anyway, I've ordered the book. One more volume for my shelf of partly read "improve your athletic performance" how-tos.
Anyway, I've ordered the book. One more volume for my shelf of partly read "improve your athletic performance" how-tos.
Monday, July 1, 2013
The New Normal
I'm not sure where I fit in exactly among the other authors of this blog--given that I'm neither an academic OR a lawyer--but I was honored when Ted welcomed into the inner circle. I suggested that maybe we could broaden the meaning of the blog's name to include not just "profs" but "professionals." I may not be a professional runner, but I do have a full-time job and I run.
Ted and I spent the summer of 2005 training together in the early mornings. I was a full-time grad student spending the summer in Brooklyn with my husband...whose mom happened to be dean of BLS. Although a freak squash accident prevented Ted from getting to the starting line of NYCM that fall, I think we both agree that our summer training regimen got us into pretty good shape.
At that time, I was running 60-75 miles per week and getting to the track every Wednesday night to work out with CPTC (and my Boston club once I was back up there). I was so hard on myself when I felt sluggish or had a bad workout, but I would have appreciated what I had far more had I known that I would develop a bad knee injury shortly after PR-ing at Boston the next spring. We graduated and moved back to D.C. and I tried everything I could to fix my knee--including finally having arthroscopy to clean it up in April 2008.
Things improved, but I never felt like I was back to where I had been. I was spinning more than I was running and I wasn't completely pain-free. I just kept thinking it would take more time. Then I got pregnant and had a baby (and a C section) in early 2011. Despite my best intentions, my ability to run during pregnancy was limited and it was a very long road back that next year. And I never could get back to the days of 8 minute pace being easy pace.
Even though I harbor secret thoughts of getting back some speed in time to become a masters runner, I am slowly but surely accepting the fact that a slower me is the new normal. I did a ten miler, my first race since Boston 2006, this spring--and I ran 8 minute pace. And it didn't feel easy (but it didn't feel that bad, actually). I'm learning to test myself again and trying to introduce some "speed" work when I don't have some niggle or another. A lot of it is on the treadmill, something that I still find unpalatable but would have found inconceivable 5 years ago. But getting in my run inside is better than not getting in my run at all.
I do not enjoy 5Ks (more so now that it takes me about that long to warm up) but I think I'll be doing a low-key race on July 4. I also signed up for the Parks Half-Marathon, and my goal for that is to (to paraphrase a recent interview with Shalane Flanagan) is to "embrace the discomfort."
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| Mom loves the treadmill! |
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Run-touring Channel Port aux Basques
Posting from the MV Highlander while returning to North Sydney NS from Newfoundland. After seven days on "the rock," the highlight of which was four days/three nights backpacking the locally famous Long Range Traverse through Gros Morne National Park, I finally got in a run in this wonderfully remote locale. For an hour this morning I jogged through thick fog and some rain up and down more or less every street in the downtown area of one of the oldest (European) settlements in North America. (Basque fishers are known to have used the harbor early in the 1500s.) I tried but failed to reach the lighthouse -- a boat is necessary; I reached a Coast Guard facility at the high-point in town; I passed three churches on the same block -- zoning, or competitive forces at work?; and I greeted a few very friendly locals. I also learned:
The ferry SS Caribou had launched from here in 1942 before being sunk by a German U boat.
The English purchased Newfoundland from the French in 1713.
Early settlers were French and English.
The earliest ferries from Newfoundland to Canada started in 1898.
The rail line from Channel Port aux Basques to St. John's NL started running in the same year.
This is a marvelous place. I never fully realized one could find such remoteness 1200 miles by car and six hours by ferry from DC. We didn't make it to some extraordinary places, such as the Viking settlement on the far northwest tip of the island that dates to the year 1000.
Back now to reality. One reality: I need to return to steady running after a month of not nearly enough.
The ferry SS Caribou had launched from here in 1942 before being sunk by a German U boat.
The English purchased Newfoundland from the French in 1713.
Early settlers were French and English.
The earliest ferries from Newfoundland to Canada started in 1898.
The rail line from Channel Port aux Basques to St. John's NL started running in the same year.
This is a marvelous place. I never fully realized one could find such remoteness 1200 miles by car and six hours by ferry from DC. We didn't make it to some extraordinary places, such as the Viking settlement on the far northwest tip of the island that dates to the year 1000.
Back now to reality. One reality: I need to return to steady running after a month of not nearly enough.
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