Where’s the peanut butter?!

There’s an interesting idea in the latest Runner’s World that they call finish strong points. If you’re running a race and care about the best results you can achieve then you clearly want to wind it up feeling like you don’t have any energy left. This probably won’t be achieved by everyone using the same tactic (go out strong and try to hold on, progressively work your way up to a fast finish, or something else) or for the same distance, but the article describes tabulating these points by starting to keep track at the 2/3 point of a race and then gaining a point for every person you pass and deducting a point for every person who passes you. Regardless of specific splits, this should help you understand whether you were more or less able to sustain whatever you were trying to do in the race than other people in the field.

I know at my last 5K I was hoping to finish at a sustained pace of faster than 6 minute miles. I hit the first in about 5:55, the second in 6:00 flat, and when I saw my watch in the third at about 6:14, I felt discouraged and started to not care as much about the remaining leg. So clearly, I slowed, but I don’t think I was getting passed by tons of people, so maybe I should have felt more satisfied on the whole. Or maybe if I’d paid closer attention I would have realized I was getting passed, and then I might think that the next time I’d be better off starting at or above a 6:00 pace. In future races where I’m trying to race hard, I’ll try to pay attention to this.

Also - this isn’t about the kick at the end of the race. I’ve learned over the past year that whether you outkick or are outkicked has a lot more to do with whether you (or someone else) put forth a consistently hard effort leading up to the finish and also your mental state about the finish and doesn’t provide enough information to really be meaningful toward analyzing the race. It is, however, the a great indicator of whether and how awesome you’ll feel about yourself after the finish!

Chicago, Twin Cities, Marine Corps…I better make up my mind before my only choice is an ad hoc Trishathon!

Here’s the next installment of hydration and running - this time covering the types of paraphernalia available while running. Outside of getting hydration along your run (from drinking fountains or support on a race course) you basically have to carry your drink. Henceforth, I’ll refer to this as “water” but secretly of course I really mean “your carbohydrate and electrolyte replenishing sports drink,” mm-kay? There are three basic options for this: carry it in your hand (bottle), have it around your waist (belt), or bring it on your back (camelback). I’ve used all three and each have their pro’s and con’s that I’ll discuss.

• Bottle: You could just buy a bottled drink but there are a couple hand held bottles on the market that I think are preferable. One is made by NathanNathan and the other is made by NathanAmphipod. Both (usually) come with a strap which can make carrying them significantly easier (regular bottles tend to feel very cumbersome, IMO), and there tends to be an integrated small pouch, which can be handy for carrying money, extra gels or, ahem, other things. The strap/pouch convenience is one reason I think these are preferable over drinks you’d buy in a convenience store, but the other reasons are that they tend to have a better drinking spout and you get to mix your own drink. You can mix in and shake up a gel, nuun, concentrated Gatorade or whatever you want. Basically, you get more flexibility over what you drink. The major drawback I feel that bottles have is that 16 fluid ounces of water is 16 ounces. My understanding is that if you start running with this, it will eventually feel like an extension of your regular routine but I’ve never gotten past that hump and so the bottle always feels uncomfortably heavy for me to carry until it’s about down to about 8oz. Until then, I’m changing hands and basically distracted by carrying it.
• Belt: There are a bunch of variations of these on the market - some hold a water bottle, some hold multiple little gel flasks, and there is also a single gel flask option. The only one I have experience with is gel flask and this is what I use for my long runs, half marathons, and what I expect I’ll use for future marathons. It’s small enough to only slightly impact my running and it can accommodate about 1-4 gels (with varying amounts of water mixed in). The downside is that you obviously can’t rely on this alone for hydration for a run of any considerable distance, but if you can combine it with water along the way, you can get everything you need in one convenient, concentrated device. The other belt options are probably pretty similar to the backpack, which I’ll describe next, however I don’t really like the idea of a giant belt of water sloshing around my waist. Ymmv.
• Backpack: Finally, you could choose a backpack. These tend to be way more expensive than the above options (bottles and the flask run $10-20, a camelback will be at least $30) but they can be (IMO) very comfortable, the reservoir volume can be a huge plus, and they usually have (relatively speaking) tons of storage space for snacks, first aid, or whatever else you need. When I was doing longer runs in the middle of Nowhere, Alaska or when I’ve been on trail runs, I’ve relied on a Camelback and been very happy with the results. The only thing I’ve needed to watch out for with a backpack is ensuring that the shirt I wear it over has a snug enough collar so that the shoulder straps don’t rub my neck once I have the backpack at a comfortable adjustment such that movement is minimized. I’ve worn my Camelback with some shirts that did not have a high enouch collar and it earned me another stamp in my Passport of Running Related Chafed Body Parts. Finally, compared with the water bottle, you have both your hands free, which is nice if you’re doing trail running and need to brace in a fall, grab a tree, or swing from a vine. They do get hotter than a bottle, but when adjusted properly it will flop around a little (mitigating the negative impact) and is sufficiently more convenient than carrying a bottle that I like this option.

So those are my opinions on the available options. In a nutshell, for supported races I’ll almost definitely always go with the gel flask. If there were ever a moderately long race where I need some, but not a ton of hydration and I couldn’t get it on the course I might take a half-filled hand bottle, but generally I’d choose a camelback.

Lastly - I mentioned to a friend that I planned to write about running hydration paraphernalia and I should mention that I don’t know enough to weigh in on the pros and cons about bringing bongwater.

It feels like it’s been ages since I wrote a long post about running. Wouldn’t you agree? Mom, of course, I’m talking to you. Anyway - Rolando from my running club is signed up for an ultra next month (a 50K in the North Face Endurance Challenge) and we’ve been talking about hydration options on a remote course, which is something I’ve wanted to write about for a while. In this post I’ll describe hydration in general and discuss water vs. sports drinks and electrolyte replacement.

Hydration is obviously important in running and it turns out to be a little complex. If you calculate your perspiration rate, you’d probably be amazed to find out how much water you lose while running (I’m especially gifted but I lose about four pounds an hour when running), so if you can drink while you’re on the go, this helps. You probably won’t be able to consume fluids at the rate that you’re losing them so you need to drink as part of recovery, too, but if you can drink while you’re out there, your body will be a lot happier.

But you probably don’t want to simply drink water, either. You might be able to, and depending on how far you’re going that might be just fine, but usually a sports drink will be much more beneficial. There are a bunch of reasons for this but the two that I think are usually adequate to make the case for a sports drink over plain water are:

• sports drinks contain carbohydrates (usually just some sugars), which your body synthesizes into glycogen, which is the available energy source that it uses to keep you going. This is also what runners get from the various “gels” which are on the market (Gu, Shot Blocks, Clif Shots, etc.). You’re much better off having rested before running because your body can’t immediately synthesize glycogen from the carbohydrates that you take in while running, but it still definitely helps (go run for 2 hours with and without taking some kind of carbohydrates in half way through the run and you’ll see this is true).
• sports drinks contain electrolytes. Blood isn’t just water and neither is your sweat - it’s a combination of water and four chief minerals: sodium, potassium, magnesium, and another one that I can never remember. Sports drinks tend to have a chemical composition which is a closer to your normal body’s balance of those minerals which a) means you’re more clearly replacing what has been lost than if you just drank water and b) is more readily absorbed by your body than straight water.

Another quick note about sports drinks and electrolyte replacement: a word that has unfortunately come up related to this is hyponatremia. This is a condition that is pretty rare under normal circumstances but can afflict long distance runners and basically occurs when the sodium (latin: natrium) levels in your body get very low (latin: hypo-). This can kill a person.

How much should you hydrate while running? With sports drinks or a combination of gels and water? This is all pretty much up to the individual and hard to give much advice on except to suggest “do it” and “practice.” I don’t really think I *need* a gel for all of my weekend long runs, but when I’m training for something I try to be in the habit of eating one because I know I’ll be eating them in a race and I want my body to be used to this. One last note: I don’t know if I think anyone needs to hydrate for a race as short as a 5K. People do, but they always look like dorks. However I also know from personal experience that it’s possible to overhead in a race as short as a 12K. Which comes back to “practice.”

In the next exciting installment: hydration paraphernalia!

You might home I’m writing about Supernova for a change, but nope, this is running. Again.

Lately I’ve been feeling pretty sluggish and not as fast. I think a couple things might account for it - chiefly the increased amount of time I’m spending with my butt parked in front of a computer now that I have regular work again and in parallel with that, my increased caffeine intake. I’ll try to tweak those variables to see what happens. But last week we ran our 10×800’s with 60 seconds rest workout again and while two weeks earlier I hit a 2:55 average (starting at ~3 and picking the pace up to increase the average), this time I hit a 2:57 average. That was a little disappointing but what was worse was 1) in the last lap, I wanted to let loose a kick on the final 200 but I felt like I had absolutely nothing to give and 2) going into the workout I thought I felt pretty good and was hoping to improve a little over the prior 2:55. The workout was pretty different because none of the people I did the previous set with were there and I only had Robby to do the workout with, and he was supposed to have strides and tempo so he probably shouldn’t have done the 800’s at all. Oh, and I weighed myself yesterday and I’ve put on 5 pounds, which probably hasn’t helped. My times are still as good as they’ve ever been, so once I get back in shape I should be really able to tear it up.

Anyway - I talked with the coach and he recommended some vitamins so I’m going to see how that goes. I’m now taking E, Iron, and some C (to help absorb the iron). I’m hoping this will all go pretty well because it’s really getting to be close to time for me to start training to hit the three big runs I want to do this year - a marathon distance training run in under 3:30 (some time around May), a sub-18 5K over the summer (which should be pretty easy), and qualifying for Boston in the fall (which should also be pretty easy). And I mean “easy” in the sense of “totally doable” - not “easy.” I’ll be sure to keep teh internets posted with my results!

Meet Karl:

I’ve run a bunch of races with Karl and this morning we did the St. Patrick’s Day Dash through downtown Seattle. The race wraps up near the football stadium and F.X. McRory’s was hosting the post-run beer garden. Getting a drink after the race seemed like the festive thing to do (if not the most appealing - after a run, beer really seems a lot less tempting) but when we got to the entrance where they were checking IDs Karl didn’t have his and they wouldn’t let him in! I’m no lawyer but I’d swear that the legality surrounding such a situation is that the bar can lose their liquor license if they serve to (or maybe allow in) a minor - not for barring entry for a guy who is clearly in his 50’s but who doesn’t have his ID. Maybe I’m wrong, but this seemed like just about the dumbest thing ever.

To be fair, Karl was going around asking all the women if they had “seen me lucky charms” and he probably started drinking well before the race, but still…Instead we walked up the street to Fado where the staff was much more reasonable and had our pints.

(To be more fair - he was in costume and I think he asked all 20,000 race participants if they had seen his lucky charms - not just the women. And of course he hadn’t been drinking before the race. For once.)

There’s another nipple in town.

I have a bunch of recaps I need to get to work on…

• My trip to Salt Lake City with Scott from a week and a half ago, wherein the slopes were rocked.
• The weekend of races, wherein my track race was so-so but the Hart Foundation reunification saw me and the Anvil both setting new personal bests.
• The transformation of flexcar into zipcar, wherein my rates go up.

Monday I start real work again, so I guess I’m glad I’m keeping busy enough that I’m not finding time to blog, but as usual I’m not totally sure where all my time’s going. But I know in about an hour it’s going to be sucked up by 6×800’s with 1 minute recovery. But it’s on the grass! Just like old times!

Notes from yesterday’s long run. This one I projected to be 11-12 and it came out to just under 13, so my estimates are improving.

. . . takk… let’s go . . . olympics are stunningly clear! . . . still water, too - landing strip of reflected sunshine . . . is that sweat? warmer than I thought . . . uh oh - train in the way of the stairs - guess I can hop the cars - really need to order that roadid mom got me for christmas . . . over the magnolia bridge - I love this middle part of Sé Lest with the celestra . . . was that Lou Barlow??? . . . giant Starbucks - Catherine Blaine school . . . some day do a left turning find the cheese run here . . . visitors center - split: 40 minutes?? . . . quiet on the back trails . . . take the sandy fork on the bluffs - I was taught that’s the hard way . . . must - not - flatten - little - kids . . . hello, bernese mountain dog! . . . my favorite tree - 19 minutes . . . slow down - YESTERDAY was the race . . . visitors center - split: under 24 . . . snack time . . . Frank, please take me home . . . In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning will definitely help me hit the right pace . . . pretty dull roads, could I have gotten to commodore? . . . hello, jerky driver! . . . “Miss Beacon Plumbing”? these hydroplane guys have a great sense of humor . . . thankfully few bikers on the pier 91 trail . . . still low wind - still beautiful . . . Rainier!!! what a great day - need to go to the market . . . aaaahhhhhh - “I’ll Be Around” - where are the singers like this today? . . . finish through Eagle . . .

My old manager and his wife just finished their first full marathon this weekend in Arizona. Results are up (bibs 2293 and 5132) and it looks like they did everything I could have hoped they would do in the race:

• finished! - this is really an awesome achievement
• hit a pretty even pace - sub-10’s overall with an ~15 minute positive split on the race
• did not beat my PR

Anyway - congratulations!! Curtis - I know you’ve come a long way from Capitol City and even longer from that Fundamentals team donut picture.