Distance Run

Today was definitely one of those days.  The temperature when I was getting ready for my run was 31 degrees, but with winds gusting to 30 miles per hour, the wind chill felt like 19.

Brr.  But what’s a runner to do?  The run must go on, but how should I dress?

For those of you who have followed this blog, you know I’m a big fan of Jeff Galloway.  On page 39 of the second edition of “Galloway’s Book on Running” Jeff gives sage advice for what to wear for just about any temperature.  Generally, I live and die (or at least my wardrobe does) by the table he presents.

But high-wind situations require special care.

I absolutely hate to bring anything if I might have to take it off and carry it.  I think it’s noobish.  I can hardly bear carrying my tee-shirt on warm days…

But I also hate freezing my butt off.

I scoff at the runner out in 19 degree weather wearing shorts and a tee-shirt, but I also chuckle at the poor guy our there running in thick sweat pants and top, with a jacket on to boot!

So, here’s how I chose.

Compression shorts and thick tights on the bottom half.  Above the waist I wore a dark colored, tight-fitting polypro long-sleeved shirt with a looser fitting, long sleeved, and long-cut charcoal gray shirt.  This shirt was somewhat thick, but not really a jacket.   Both shirts were performance wear with excellent wicking and quick drying.  I topped it off with gloves and a skull cap to cover my ears.

I debated with myself over adding a high-ventilation fleece, a vest, or a high-vent wind jacket.

But I decided on none of them.  My concern was sweat build up.  I’d rather “feel” a little cold but dry, rather than be wet and cold!

The colors of the gear were designed to help capture some sun.  It was mostly sunny this morning, you see.

So, how did it go?  Flawlessly.  The black tights and charcoal top did perfectly for capturing the   heat from the sun.  The also did well at letting just enough wind through to keep me dry.

There was only 1 particularly cold point during the run, lasting for only a few seconds, and the final walk (about 1/4 mile) back to my house was a bit nippy.  All said and done, though, I had a most enjoyable, fulfilling run during less than optimal conditions.

I love running.

Bill

DEF: Noob – someone who really doesn’t know what the heck is going on in a given situation.  Generally the person sporting the deer-in-the-headlights look :)

Today I completed the last run for week 7 of my training program. It also marks the end of the second build up period.

The 3 week progression for this period was: 36 miles, 43 miles, 51 miles for weeks 5, 6 and 7, respectively. You can see details in the on-line training log.

During weeks 5 and 6 I was feeling good and was doing my runs too fast, about 1 minute per mile too fast. By the end of week six, I was feeling really fatigued. My diet was also slacking. The hard runs and crappy diet equated to trouble.

I refocused on my diet (more veggies, fruit, etc) and forced myself to run slower during week seven.

Fortunately, it seems to be working. I’m no longer useless if I get less than 9 or 10 hours of sleep, and I feel like I have more energy, despite having a hard running week.

All things considered, though, I’m glad next week is “easy week”. Running 6 miles mid-week with shorter runs on the weekend will be a nice change. I’m scheduled for 36 miles, but may do only 30. I don’t want to get into a position where I’m taxing my body too much. I still have 5 months of training!

Lesson learned for the week. Bring food and water on longer runs.

It has been a while since I’ve done longer runs. The 17 mile run on Saturday, in the sun, in 74 degree heat, got pretty ugly near the end. I was pretty dehydrated, and my stomach was growling like a pit bull. At one point I considered stopping to eat some leaves off a bush or something. Hah. It’s fun how the mind wanders, isn’t it. I kept thinking, “When I’m done with this run, I’m going to eat an apple, drink orange juice, eat a banana, drink a ton of water, eat a pizza”, blah blah blah.

But, sunny and 70’s in January! It was hard to get too down! There were plenty of sights and sounds along the canal to keep me busy. Man I love the canal. Not a very taxing place to run, and lots of unbelievable scenery.

Rock,
Bill

Ok, I have created a web enabled version of my training schedule for Bighorn.

In calendar format, it is a little too wide to fit in the blog, so you fill find a link to it below.

Please check back as the schedule may change if I deem that the mileage progression I laid out is a little too challenging.

Bill’s Bighorn Trail 100 Mile training log.

Enjoy,
Bill Gross

2006 was a light year for me with respect to running.

I logged only 1147 miles. That’s way down from the 1818 I ran last year.

Early in the year, I was finishing the last semester of my master’s degree. That coupled with not having a spring race planned lead to many slow months of running.

Then later, while training for Richmond, I developed knee issues that kept me from training to the level I had hoped for.

But time off can be a good thing. Taking a “break” gave me time to fall in love with running again. By mid year I was no longer running with a watch, and had begun to crave and enjoy the runs again.

I also started doing some trail running, which has really propelled my attitude. I love it!

Now I’m training for Bighorn (a trail run!!!) and my mileage is going way up. According to my current training plan for Bighorn, I’ll log almost 1100 miles this year by race day in May.

2007 is looking like it will be a great year for me running. In all likelihood, I’ll run more ultras this year than I’ve run marathons. Sweet.

I’ve got my eye on doing the 39 mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer as a 1-day ultra event to help prep myself for Bighorn. I wanted to try that in 2006, but I think 2007 is the year.

Rock on,
Bill Gross