Sweat Equity

I’ve got to be completely honest, right now my head is spinning and my legs are a bit gassed. Not only has this been the busiest July on record but we’ve gotten some intensely hot weather recently in the Northeast. Of all the months on the running calendar, I dread July and August the most. The heat takes a real toll on me no matter how easy the pace. Long runs, speed work, recovery miles…doesn’t matter. It’s at this time every year I think of buying a summer home in Fairbanks, Alaska.

You know it’s bad when you start daydreaming about shoveling out your driveway.

For two months straight as I’m lacing up my shoes I dawdle a bit too much before heading out the door, trying to delay the inevitable. These summer runs never disappoint either because very one of them is a battle. Spending that 40 minutes to 3 hours wiping the sting of sweat from my eyes, trying to manage the heat along with fighting back the occasional bout of nausea at times makes me question my sanity. I walk in the house after practically every workout completely drenched. Most days you couldn’t tell the difference between me post-run and me post-scuba-diving.

I’ve got a serious love/hate relationship with my training during this time of the year, emphasis on the ‘hate’. I love knowing the suffering is contributing to the end result but I just can’t get used to the heat. I’m now into the fourth summer of this going back to 2009 when I began running marathons again to qualify for Boston and history repeats itself four years later as I look to get into a more exclusive club. Right now I have less than 14 weeks to get ready for that attempt.

Eating at Windows on the World gave you a great view!

The NYC marathon has some special meaning for me this time. Growing up on Long Island and going to school in North Jersey, NYC has been a been a big part of my life. Many times I took the Long Island Railroad or the PATH trains into the city with friends and family. I remember taking my then girlfriend and future wife to eat at the top of the World Trade Center and then many years later to Tavern on the Green in Central Park. In looking back, the NYC Marathon was the last marathon I ran in my prime. I was 23 back in 1987 when I stood in a crowd of runners on the Verrazano Bridge waiting for the gun to go off. After we heard the gun we all stood in place or jogged slowly for another five to ten minutes before crossing the starting line. I don’t remember any corrals back then and there was no chip timing either. I remember fighting my way through the mass of runners for several miles until I found some room to hit my stride. The memories of that race are really vivid, each neighborhood had such a unique feel and culture. Brooklyn, Manhattan, South Bronx… I can remember those parts of the course but oddly enough I don’t remember the finish line. Maybe there’s a message there, the destination only has as much value as the journey itself.

A lot has changed in 25 years. From the number of runners to the ethnic makeup of the city and I’m excited to see the differences. I’m also different in a number of ways. More experienced, but (hopefully) more humble. Better prepared but with more wear and tear on the body. I can’t remember what I wore that day in 1987 but my race day singlet for Nov 4th is already safely tucked away in my drawer. For this race I’ve completely changed my training plan and I’ve completely changed how I fuel. Now I’m starting to see a difference.

For all my previous marathons I either used a stock training plan, or in the case of my mid-1980′s marathons, none at all. My McMillan training plan was designed specifically for me to get under 3 hours at NYC. Customized for the time, customized for the race and customized for the runner. I’m only 5 weeks into it so far and I’ve run more mileage below my goal marathon pace than during any 18 week training period to date (that’s a good thing… I think). I’m keeping an eye out for warning signs of overuse but so far good results.

In becoming a Gatorade athlete these past two months I’ve jumped into the product line with both feet. I’m not about to advocate to other athletes on products I’m not consistently using so I’m using everything. The biggest change for me was fueling pre-run. Always being cost and calorie conscious, I would often head out for a run on an empty stomach and only then fuel mid-run on my Sunday runs of 15+ miles. That’s changed as I now use either a Prime 4 oz pouch or Carb Energy Chew before I hit the pavement. For most of my key runs I’m also carrying a sleeve or two of Chews for some mid-run carbs. The water in my hydration pack on Sundays has been replaced by Gatorade Endurance Formula. The difference? I’ve hit every key workout even with the big change in routine and intensity. I’m still in evaluation mode but I don’t think this is coincidental, fueling before and during is definitely having an impact.

95 days to go, a 2:59 finish time to get to and the clock is ticking. Let’s get to work.

photo credit

Gatorade EndurAlliance – Part 3: Opportunities

On to part 3. In Part 1 and Part 2 I got as far as the end of day 1 at Gatorade HQ. At this point the first workday was over, we headed back to the hotel to drop off a few things and then piled on to the bus to get dinner and watch the White Soxs take on the Blue Jays at US Cellular Field. Since many of us flew in that morning it had been a long day so far and from the conversations I was overhearing we were all more interested in the food then the ball game. Once we arrived we headed into the stadium and then went up to the Gatorade corporate suite. If you’re going to attend a professional sporting event, this is the way to do it.

You can watch the game while watching the game...

Words can’t do it justice so take a look at the pics. Widescreen TV, fridge, bar, and plenty of seating. We had Vienna beef hotdogs (which were probably the best hotdogs I ever tasted), steak sandwiches, and after that a dessert truck came by (bigger than a cart but smaller than an 18 wheeler) that had everything you could think of in mammoth sized portions. We all ate like we were running an ultra the next day.

Our seats were right across from Third Base

You know what the really cool thing was, we were all making comments like “Ok, that’s about 5,000 calories for me”, or “Hey, let’s make that 5 mile run tomorrow a 12 miler” and we all just laughed about it. There wasn’t anyone making the “you could stand to gain a few pounds” type comments that we are all use to hearing at almost every family event we attend. We had all just met that morning but throughout the day you could tell there was an instant camaraderie, we were all wired in a similar way. Despite the different ages and backgrounds, we “got” each other. It was a good feeling.

As dinner/dessert was winding down I noticed Coach McMillan was sitting by himself watching the game as most of us were milling about the suite either getting seconds or participating in a group discussion. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. So I walked over and sat down, making sure to keep an empty seat between us (I didn’t want to crowd the guy). You know that feeling when you have so many questions you kind of freeze up and can’t figure out where to start? I had a terminal case of that. After a few minutes I was finally able to get a coherent thought and started talking.

What I was most curious about was what Greg’s thoughts were on form, foot strike and footwear. So I started by asking what his take was on heel vs. mid-foot/forefoot strike and his answer surprised me a bit. He said that where the foot contacts the ground is more important than which part strikes first. He explained that the heel can make contact first but the foot should land under the body, avoiding over-striding was important. He made a point of mentioning that there are healthy runners with bad technical form. “You look at them run and you wonder how they can train and not get hurt”. Some runners land heel first and some don’t, performance and staying healthy are more important than perfecting technical form. Coach McMillan explained that every runner has his/her own unique physiology and quirks so the ideal form for each runner varies. He mentioned that there were also great runners with great technical form but ironically some got injured often. It was clear that Greg felt very strongly that there was no ideal foot-strike, it’s very individualized.

Coach Greg McMillan and yours truly. You feel faster just standing next to him.

Our discussion on foot strike lead to footwear choices, I told him about my situation and how much going zero drop/minimal has reduced my injury rate. He replied “that’s great, you found what works for you but that might not work for someone else”. We started to discuss injury rates and I mentioned that I had read that the injury rates in the 60′s and 70′s were lower when all runners wore flats. He replied “That’s not true, injury rates haven’t changed even going back that far, in fact the raised heel was originally added to running shoes because runners kept tearing up their achilles”. As we talked Greg kept sharing some great insights that challenged me and really made me think.

On a footwear note, Greg is working with Adidas which will be coming out in the fall with running shoes he helped design. The heel in that shoe line starts at 11mm and goes down to 3mm. A bunch of us were drooling over the pair he was wearing (the 3mm version) and a few of the more bolder members of our group were trying to figure out how to score a pair from him. Be on the look out for these this fall and when I get more specifics I’ll pass them on. Overall on the footwear topic, as with foot-strike, I could tell that Greg felt strongly that footwear choices were individual as well, there was no ideal shoe for everyone. Performance and running injury free were key.

During the time we were talking I caught myself saying (rather frequently) “I hadn’t thought of that”. There are those moments where you realize just how little you know about a topic. It’s a good feeling though because it presents an opportunity for learning and growth. I mentioned I was running the NYC marathon in the fall and we talked a bit about training. When we were discussing my training plans his first question was “Where do you live, are there hills near you?” That got my attention and unbeknownst to Greg I felt convicted because I know I was under-utilizing hills in my training. I plan on changing that very soon.

He put NYC in the category of challenging courses. I thought about the hill profile for NYC for a moment and asked him why he thought it was challenging because I really couldn’t see it, even having run NYC once before many years ago. He said “You have the bridges and then the you have the roads which are in horrible shape. It’s not like Chicago where you can zone out for 26 miles. You need to stay alert to avoid all the cracks, manholes and bad pavement.” My reply? “I hadn’t thought of that”. That’s why Greg is one of the top running coaches in the US, because he sees the details most of us miss. I hadn’t consider the mental challenge of the race from that perspective, but I’m considering it now.

Coach McMillan mentioned that he had just submitted a manuscript for a book to be published this fall. He explained that it goes over his approach to training and coaching in detail. Needless to say I’ll be picking this up as soon as it’s available. I’m not big on book reviews (only because I don’t think I’m good at them) but I may have to make an exception in this case.

As the game got into the 8th inning even the 20-somethings in the group were ready to head out and crash back at the hotel. We had a 5 mile group run scheduled for 6:30AM so there wasn’t any resistance in the group.

Team Gatorade takes Chicago

We all met the next morning in the hotel lobby, decked out in our matching G-Bolt black Nike t-shirts. With about eight or so in our group including Coach McMillan and Michellie Jones, we downed some G Series 01 Prime and got on the road. The hotel was maybe a mile or less from Lake Michigan so we weaved our way thorough morning rush hour traffic and were finally in the clear when we hit the lake. It was a great morning, a clear sky and not too warm. We clipped along at about a 7:45 pace which was fast enough to keep us from getting bored but slow enough to encourage conversation. I noticed some startled looks from the local runners who obviously weren’t used to seeing what appeared to be a Black Ops team breezing by them while three different conversations were going on simultaneously. The only thing identifying us was an understated G-Bolt on the front for our shirts and an orange #winfromwithin hashtag on the back.

Day 2 was filled with Retail Training Events, a deep dive on the EndurAlliance Program along with excellent presentations from Michellie and Greg. There was a lot to learn so I soaked up as much as I could and took plenty of notes. If you’re in the Philly area you can see me put all this great knowledge into action at the Gatorade booth during the Philly Insurance Triathlon expo on 6/22 and 6/23.

At the end of the day we grabbed dinner and eventually headed back to the hotel. On Saturday morning I grabbed my early flight out of O’Hare and shortly afterwards was back to reality in Philly. It’s hard to sum up what a great experience this was, there were far more learning opportunities than I could count and I’m sure there will be plenty of learning opportunities yet to come as I reach out to the endurance community and help educate them on fueling and nutrition. I’ll keep you all posted as usual, so as always, stay tuned!

Gatorade EndurAlliance – Part 2: Somebody Pinch Me

As promised here’s part 2. I’ll go through the first day at Gatorade HQ and show you some of the expertise and research that goes into Gatorade products along with some details on the products that they’ve designed specifically for the endurance athlete.

Sweet!

I flew out of Philadelphia International Thursday morning and got into Chicago O’Hare around 9:30 AM. I met up with a few other ambassadors and we rode together to the hotel to drop off our bags and get ready for our afternoon meetings over at Gatorade HQ. We got to the hotel and at the front desk we got a bag of Gatorade swag including two polo shirts to wear for the meetings and a tech-tee for the training run Friday morning. After a quick shirt change and putting away a few things it was time to head to the lobby and catch our ride for the first meeting.

When we got there we got to meet the Directors and Marketing folks at Gatorade and the folks from Hawkeye who is the marketing company running the ambassador program. What a great group of people! It was fun meeting everyone and we all sat down, grabbed some sandwiches and started talking. We moved through introductions pretty quickly and then started talking about Gatorade as a company and as a brand. One of the things that impressed me the most is the amount of research that goes into every product Gatorade provides. We spent a good hour talking to Matt Pahnke, a sports scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. Matt has his doctorate in exercise physiology, is a level II certified USATF coach and was a member of Team USA in 2007 competing in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. In other words, Matt knows his stuff. He’s a member of Gatorade’s “G Council” which is a group of professional athletes, coaches and scientists that provide guidance and subject matter expertise. I could take up several posts in breaking down all the great information Matt was sharing. The topics varied from fluid, carbohydrate and nutrient needs to what the latest research was telling us about performance and recovery. You may hate me for not going into more detail but the good news is I don’t have to, Gatorade has broken it all down into one product line and three phases:

G Series Pro

01 Prime: Pre-race fuel that helps your body convert carbs to energy.
02 Perform: G Series Pro Endurance Formula with twice the sodium and three times the potassium of Gatorade Thirst Quencher.
03 Recovery: Post workout/race protein products to help rebuild muscle.

We got to sample every product and flavor. I was familiar with several products but a few I had never tried. I had used 01 Prime at both the Broad Street Run and the Moorestown 8K and PR’d at both races. 01 Prime is a 4 oz. pouch that has carbs, electrolytes and B vitamins to help convert carbs to energy. I downed the pouch on race day about 15 minutes before gun time. It digested really well and I had no GI issues. Next we sampled the 02 Perform G Series Pro Endurance Formula. What I wasn’t aware of is that this is the product you get on the race course at water stops. For years I thought that it was regular Gatorade Thirst Quencher but instead you’re getting the extra potassium and sodium that comes in the G Series Pro line. The Endurance Formula comes in the familiar bottles but you can also buy it in powder form to mix on your own.

Gatorade EndurAlliance Ambassador meeting

There was a lot of speed in that room. A lot of speed...

We then moved to the recovery products which I have become a firm believer in over the past two years. One thing Matt shared with us is that for a post recovery drink you should be getting about 20 grams of protein for maximum effect in rebuilding muscle tissue. More than 20 grams has no real impact which I was not aware of. Essentially anything over 20 grams is just expensive urine. It’s a good idea to take in protein again but you need to wait at least a few hours for your body to be able to take advantage of it. The recovery drinks come in an 11 oz. shake (the vanilla is good but the chocolate is great) and also in a 16.9 oz. drink that has a consistency similar to other beverages. I’ve used the recovery drink post race and I’m planning on getting my hands on the shakes in the VERY near future.

We then went over messaging, social media and a few business areas. I’ll spare you the details but it was all good info. Now let me back track a second here and mention that there were two people who came into the meeting a little later than us and were sitting on the other side of the room. At one point one of the speakers mentioned that these were two other members of their G Council and introduced the gentleman as Running Coach Greg McMillan. My ears perked up and I quickly leafed through my binder to the bios. It was him, the head coach of McMillan Running and creator of the McMillan Calculator sitting about 20 feet from me. Then sitting next to him was Michellie Jones, one of the best triathletes in the world and a sliver medalist at the 2000 Olympics.

I looked around for a minute and took it all in. Since I only knew the people around me for all of 2 hours I felt awkward asking someone to pinch me. It’s was turning out to be a pretty good day.

I’m noticing my word count is getting high so I’ll save the rest for part 3 and trust me, I’m saving the best for last. After the meetings we all headed out to US Cellular Field to get dinner and catch the White Sox play the Blue Jays. During the game I got the chance to sit with Coach McMillan and pick his brain a bit. Stay tuned!

Gatorade EndurAlliance – Part 1: Fork in the Road

“When you come to a fork in the road….Take it.” – Yogi Berra

So I listened to Yogi and I took it. I’d love to sit here and pontificate about how hard of a decision it was and how much thought I put into it, but it wasn’t and I didn’t. Back in October of 2011 I finally gave myself permission to think about life possibilities outside of the preconceived ideas that were passed down to me and reinforced in my adult years. I’m sure all of you middle-age guys out there know exactly what I’m referring to:

Get your degrees and certifications to improve your worth in the workforce.
Make yourself valuable to an employer by being willing to work long hours and make sacrifices.
Hope that your employer stays in business long enough for you to provide for your family and save enough so when the Human Resources’ Managers decide you’re too old/expensive to keep, you can still get by.

That sounds pessimistic I know, but how many of you are on the same track?

In January of 2012 permission became action and I actively started working on pursuing options that previously I thought unattainable. I made a point of contacting a few companies with phenomenal products and let them know how much of an impact those products had on my running. I also paid attention to opportunities to connect and work with companies I admired. It just so happened that last March I found out Gatorade was looking for athletes so I quickly filled out their online application.

The program I applied for is called the EndurAlliance. It is in its second year and Gatorade was looking for amateur and pro athletes to become ambassadors for their brand and represent them at local expos, races, training events and athletic stores in select cities. I’ve used many Gatorade products regularly over the years so throwing my hat in the ring for this opportunity was a no brainer. Gatorade products are high quality and backed by solid research. They’ve also helped me both in training and on race day to be a better runner. I thought my chances were slim but you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take so regardless of the outcome I was going to take my swing. I hit ‘send’ and figured my application would just lost in a sea of other applicants.

“Three tines is not a fork. Three tines is a trident. Forks are for eating, tridents are for ruling the Seven Seas.” – Sheldon Cooper: The Big Bang Theory

In Mid-April I got an email saying I was a finalist and that they were requesting a telephone interview to help with the final decision-making. In all honesty I wasn’t nervous, I’ve been in so many interviews over the years they don’t really phase me anymore. I also wasn’t focused on landing a position, I was focused on being me. I’ve already had several interviews and sold myself for positions that turned out to be lousy fits. I wanted to make sure they wanted me as much as I wanted to be part of their organization. The interview went well and during the call I found out that my interviewer was going to be at the Boston Marathon expo so I made a point to let her know I would stop by to say hello. This was a great opportunity to see who I’d be working with and give Gatorade a chance to put a name with a face (never a bad idea).

On April 27th I got a voice-mail message congratulating me and welcoming me to the program. Wait a minute, WHAT?!?!

I played the message again figuring I didn’t hear it right. Yep, I heard it right…I was going to represent Gatorade, unbelievable!

"Life all comes down to a few moments. This is one of them. " - Bud Fox, Wall Street

During the past month there have been a flurry of emails back and forth (along with all the jumping up and down in excitement about the work I was going to be doing). I got the program contract and sat down with my wife to discuss it. While the document was only a few pages long it was very specific about what was expected from me. Mrs. Designed to Run and I discussed the impact and commitments. We needed to make sure we were clear on how this would affect our family during the rest of the year. She was 100% behind it as my boys were but we had to have that conversation. I didn’t want any surprises or regrets going forward.

My trip out to Chicago earlier this week was for the kick-off meeting and training at Gatorade headquarters. I’ll be posting details on the program, what we did, who was there and how you can engage the ambassadors in your local markets to get the latest info and products that Gatorade is making available for endurance athletes. Part two of this post I’ll be putting together and posting tomorrow and Part three will be following later in the week. It was an amazing experience and I was blown away at the level of detail and research Gatorade is bringing to bear on giving us the best products so we can train hard and go out there and give our best on race day.

In looking at what’s occurred over the past six months, what I’m starting to realize is as an athlete it’s not always about being the fastest and it’s not about your age. It’s about being true to who you are and if you want something asking yourself ‘how bad do I want it?’ We can’t fear the answer, we need to look deep inside ourselves and find out what price we are willing to pay, everything flows from that. Win from Within.

Mile Markers

Ten thousand miles after age 40. I’m not really a big fan of spelling out numbers, it always seems cooler when you see the zeros: 10,000 miles… yes, that’s better.

I saw this milestone coming last year as I looked at my training log. Having a numbers oriented, goal setting mentality I wasn’t surprised that I started zeroing in on this one. Looking ahead I saw it as one more achievement to check off, another one for the record book. As I tried to estimate my training mileage last year I thought I’d hit this number sometime over the summer, maybe in the months of June or July. It came a little earlier than I expected as I was able to increase my mileage for the Philly Marathon last fall and Boston last month.

I was curious when it would come, you think about big milestones having an epic story behind them. Would it come during a race, maybe during an intense interval workout? Turns out it didn’t happen that way, I had an easy 5 on the schedule today with 1.7 miles needed to cross the 10,000 barrier. Rather than messing with my training in trying to ‘create’ a memorable event, I just went with it. Got home, got my gear on, did my warm ups and out the door I went.

Familiar Surroundings

I find comfort in routine so I went out and covered the same route I always use for my runs. I know where every crack in the pavement is, where each subtle change in incline starts and ends. I know when to focus on the on-coming traffic where the shoulders narrow and blind turns appear. I wish I had that adventurous curiosity, to go out and mix it up and try something different, but that’s not me. Being that familiar with my surroundings I often catch little details most folks miss. Usually it’s nothing noteworthy, maybe a new mailbox or a newly paved driveway. I enjoy the little details, getting to know my route the same way you get to know someone and grow close over many years. No matter how well you know them, there’s always something new to discover and every time you’re together there’s an opportunity for discovery that brings you closer.

From my front door I’ve got certain markers pegged almost to the hundredth of a mile, so after mile one I started thinking about 10,000. Should I stop at 10,000 and take it all in?… nah, that’s sounds over dramatic, better just to press on. After 1.5 and 1.6 I had a change of heart, why not stop for a few minutes, so at 1.7 I hit the stop button on the Garmin to appreciate the moment. I looked around for a minute and gave it some thought. I looked at the ground, looked up at the sky, gave a wave and a nod to a power walker cruising by. I had nothing. No profound revelations, no insightful visions. Once I started thinking ‘OK, I’m feeling a little silly’, I hit the button on the Garmin and got started on ten thousand and one.

Looking Forward by Looking Back

Tonight as I’m looking back, mile 10,000 didn’t seem any different from the 9,999 miles before it, and I think that’s the point. As runners we continually define ourselves with numbers whether they’re measured in distances or time. I’m as guilty of that as anyone as I’ve often used running to feed my ego and measure my self-worth. I’m starting to figure out that this can be self-destructive. Whether I’m using my own numbers or someone else’s as a measuring stick, it can turn into a vicious cycle. Achievement for achievement’s sake is a fairly shallow pool, not much depth there to explore. While routine has its place, all journeys take you through unexplored territory. Maybe it’s time to start looking at different routes.

Photo Credit

Running and Fatherhood

The Art of Running: Running and Fatherhood

We had a guest speaker at our church a few weeks back and he made a suggestion to our congregation. It was more like challenge really. He told the men “If you want to know how well you are doing as a father, go ask your kids.”

Gulp…

The Savarese Family at Christmas

My boys are 17 and 14 so there’s a lot of history there and over the years I’ve tried to give them the opportunity to sincerely talk to me about how they saw me as a Dad. I’m ashamed to say that a number of those opportunities came as a result of me going to my boys and asking them to forgive me for overreacting to something they’d done wrong. I would ask for their forgiveness because I was more concerned about repairing and maintaining a great relationship with them, even if it came at the expense of my ego. Once you lose someone’s trust, it’s awfully hard to get it back.

If we did this now I would require back surgery

Having never shown any flashes of talent in my collegiate or post-collegiate running, I had never looked at running as more than a hobby I treasured. Over the years when family and career responsibilities took precedence, running was always pushed to the side. My boys have memories of my running when they were very little but it was just a sporadic activity back then due to all the chaos of my military deployments and raising our boys so far away from family.

In their elementary and middle school years I squeaked in a run a couple of times a month but it was tough with all the after-school/weekend activities and sports obligations. Add to that the fact that between 2005 and 2008 I was working full-time, consulting on nights and weekends, and working on my Master’s degree.

The one area of my life that I never spoke to them about was my running. Since I’ve spent more time training lately I thought it was time to bring it up. So I bit the bullet and took a deep breath. I asked both my boys to write me just a few sentences or a paragraph on how they felt about my running and how it impacts them both good and bad. I let them know I wanted to post their responses on my blog and they were OK with that. So I waited…patiently. Below are their answers, raw and unedited:

From my 17 year-old: “When people ask me why my dad does marathons I usually just say he’s just insane, which he is. But I think there is more to this so-called insanity; my dad has the desire to push his body to lengths that very few enjoy doing. It inspires me, and although I don’t want to be a marathoner myself, I know I can push myself in the areas that I want to make stronger. My dad has courage, and I take pride in his courage. Maybe someday I’ll get a chance to obtain that courage.”

From my 14 year-old: “I noticed after my Dad has gotten into running he has been less quick to anger and happier. My Father is focused on running and is successful. It takes up a lot of time but he does a good job at balancing his time. I’m proud of my dad and all his accomplishments as a runner.”

Whew!

As a Father I’ve tried to be very aware of the time I spend (or don’t spend) with my family. Because relationships have always been difficult for me, I find it a challenge to gauge when I’m being too distant. I’m wired as an introvert and a geek so it’s easy for me to be engrossed in solitary activities that can last for hours. As I read the answers I saw the word ‘time’ and I cringed a bit. Maybe it was a bit of guilt or self-doubt about priorities but it brought me back to asking myself the question “Why?”.

Why do I run? Why am I doing this? Where does this fit in my life and what’s its purpose? I think we can ask these questions not just about running but any activity including our careers, family obligations,volunteering, anything. So how do we find balance? What’s the guiding principle? Never being without an opinion on something, here’s my take:

Life is about relationships, it’s why we’re here. By comparison, nothing else matters.

As a follower of Jesus my faith isn’t about rules, rituals, dogma or ceremony. It’s about having a relationship with my Creator. Everything else flows from that. If you focus your life on your relationships, career decisions have astonishing clarity. Where you spend your time and energy become self-evident. When we remove the cloud of wants, ambition, accumulating stuff, and self-realization, what we have left is what really matters: How our lives impact those around us.

Where does my running fit in to this? Honestly, I’m still figuring that out. It’s a daily gut check for me to make sure I’m putting my family first but I’m sure I fail more often than I realize. You can say I’m setting a good example of hard work and accomplishment but when does that start to bleed over into selfishness and isolation?

I was relived to see in my son’s responses that I haven’t hit that danger zone where it’s having a negative impact on them. As I’ve mentioned in another post my running is something that I no longer feel I need to push myself to do. It’s something that I feel I’m being pulled towards. In an effort to make sure I have my priorities straight I’ve asked my Creator for some details on this, but He’s not sharing much with me yet. I’ve learned over the past twenty-two years of my relationship with Him that He doesn’t tell me much in advance. That’s probably for the best. He knows me so well that if He did let on, He knows I’d just obsess about it and get in my own way. I need to trust Him like my family trusts me, because without trust it’s really not a relationship, is it?

Eight Seconds: Dathan Ritzenhein

Eight Seconds.

If you’re running at about a 5 min/mi pace that’s about 141 ft or 47 yards. From that distance you can clearly read a stop sign or recognize a friend walking toward you. This past Saturday, eight seconds from the finish, Dathan Ritzenhein could clearly see the finish line for the US Men’s Olympic Marathon trials. From that distance he was watching from behind as Abdi Abdirahman took the third and final spot for the US Men’s Olympic Marathon team. From that distance he knew he wasn’t going to London for the games.

Dathan, Kalin and Addison Ritzenhein

Dathan has had a rough year for an athlete at any level, but it had to be particularly excruciating for a professional. In March of 2011 Ritzenhein had a sheath removed from his achilles and a neuroma removed from his right foot. His achilles became infected as a result of the surgery and he was still dealing with it in August. He ran a 5k in October which was his first race in almost a year, then a month later he got the stomach flu. Imagine having that kind of year knowing that the Olympic trials were coming up in January. Knowing that 2011 had been a breakout year at the marathon distance where world records were set both internationally and in the US. Knowing that the competition at the trials would be the toughest ever.

For the year he had, I thought Ritzenhein ran a great race. At Mile 17 he was right there with Ryan, Meb and Abdi, but then he started to fall back. He was 32 seconds behind Abdi at mile 24, to catch him he would need to run 16 secs/mi faster than Abdi just to close the gap. It would seem like a herculean task for someone clocking 5 minute miles to run 16 secs/mile faster at that point in the race, and yet he closed the gap to 8 seconds at the finish. If Dathan would have had another mile, he probably would have caught Abdi and made the team.

Dathan Ritzenhein Reflects On Fourth-Place Showing

Dathan finished in 2:09:55 but Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall and Abdi all finished with faster times. This was the first time all three qualifiers finished under 2:10. In any other year Dathan’s time would have earned him a spot on the Olympic team.

I look at Dathan and I ask myself is “Do I have his strength of character?” Could I spend four years in preparation, deal with the trials and obstacles and in the final moments see everything I worked so hard for just brush past my fingertips as it exceeds my grasp? I think many of us live quiet unassuming lives because we are afraid of what that would feel like. To put it all out there, to pour ourselves out until we are empty and still fall short. To experience that sharp pain of disappointment and experience the self-doubt that comes in the aftermath of a failed effort.

I think most of us subconsciously don’t want to try too hard at anything because it’s easier dealing with the dull pain of regret than the sharp pain of failure. It’s easier to stand on the sidelines and cheer others than risk what self-esteem we have left on an endeavor with no guaranteed outcome. We think it’s tolerable to hide in the shadows and deal with the voices of fear in our heads than hear the voices of the masses if we crash and burn.

The time we’ve been given is a limited commodity and the clock’s running. Take the next eight seconds and decide if you’re willing to put it all on the line and risk failing at something you care about deeply. If it takes longer than eight seconds to decide, if you’re taking the time weighting outcomes and risks, odds are you’ll probably be making the wrong decision. Let’s all stop thinking and start doing, the clock’s running…

Photo credit Photo credit

Faith, Conformity and the Art of Running

Baltimore Marathon 2009 finishers chute. Thanking God for the opportunity and strength he just gave me to BQ.

Me after the Baltimore Marathon 2009. He stole my move?!?!

It’s NFL playoffs time and it seems everyone is talking this week about the same thing…the same guy…I don’t even have to mention his name, you know who he is. He’s a young kid in his early twenties and he already has scores of detractors and legions of followers. You can argue about his skill and if he should even be on the field. His demeanor is unassuming except for one thing, something he humbly doesn’t compromise on or back down from and as a result everyone is talking about him. His behavior is unabashedly outside the norm and because of it he’s driving some folks nuts (one reason I love this guy!)

Taking a step back:

Lets think about that for a minute in some broader terms. Since we started moving from an agricultural society to urban cities and industrial jobs there has been an increasing pressure to conform. Start putting folks together in bigger and bigger groups and watch what happens. Peer pressure and societal expectations start to take hold until those influences start to erode everyone’s individuality. Add in advertising and an expanding media presence and it’s no wonder so many people have lost their sense of self. How often do we mute our opinion for fear of offending someone? We even police our thinking on certain subjects else we accuse ourselves of a thought crime. If someone asked you in the next 30 seconds to describe who you are, could you do it without bumbling through it?…neither could I.

Stevens Tech Cross Country 1985

I used to find comfort in conformity. During my school years I thought it would protect me from ridicule by my peers. During college and my early adult years I thought it would secure a foundation for my future. During middle age I though it would bring me success and happiness. Wrong on all counts. I was so busy comparing myself to everyone else I never took a hard look at who I was. How did this happen? I have no doubt that what compels us to conform is fear (fear of rejection, fear of failure). Get rid of the fear and the need to ‘blend in’ begins to fade.

Experiments and risk taking:

My experiment with non-conformity

So what does this have to do with running? For me…everything. I thought I’d be the last guy on the planet to be prancing out on the road in five-toed hippy shoes. I’m Mr. old fashion, tried and true. ‘Stick to what works’, ‘Don’t take risks’, ‘Stay the course’, ‘Play it safe.’. Sound familiar? In my search for answers to my knee problems I fell in love with running again and stumbled into a confrontation with my conformity. For the first time I went to the periphery looking for answers to getting healthy, strong and fast. I found a lot of those answers… and something else.

Steve Jobs With 128k Mac

My non-conformist approach to running leaked into other parts of my life. My epiphany really came on my birthday last year, Oct 5th, 2011. That date may not ring a bell but that was also the day Steve Jobs died. There a lot of Apple fans around today so to say that I was an admirer of Steve might not count for much, but I’m old enough to remember messing around with an Apple II, having a Mac SE on my desk in 1989 and seeing Apple’s stock trading at about $7 a share. I’ve followed Steve’s career since my teens so when he passed it caused me to reflect and remember a quote from his Stanford commencement address in 2005:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Bang!

It was like a switch was thrown. The more I’ve focused on my running form and getting back to a natural stride, of having the feeling of the road under my feet while clicking off of the miles, the more I’m starting to see running as form of self-expression.

Running as Art:

As individuals we express ourselves often through art. Writing, painting, music, these are all accepted forms of artful expression. In the spirit of non-conformity I’m now starting to see running as an art form because I enjoy expressing myself that way…and if you’re honest so do a lot of you. Some of you are adventure racers, relay racers, ultra distance runners, marathoners, trail runners or you just want to get out the door and get in a few miles because it makes you feel good. You’re an artist expressing yourself, welcome to the club.

Personally, PRs and finisher’s medals are great but there is something else out there and I need to find out what it is. I’m starting to exploring this art form and see what’s possible. It’s not so much like I’m being pushed in this direction. It’s more like I’m being pulled. I tried the conformity route and found out it’s a dead-end. It’s time to back track and find a different road. Since I share the same faith with the young athlete I discussed earlier, I know who’s doing the pulling. I don’t know the why yet, but that’s part of the fun. That’s part of faith and that’s why I’m planning on following that athlete’s lead and remaining unabashedly outside the norm.

NARF to the World!

Steve Jobs photo credit, Pinky photo credit.

My Road to Minimalist Running

I know many folks out there on the fence about whether to get on the road to minimalist/barefoot running or stick with traditional running shoes. What I’ll do here is give you a timeline of how I transitioned and the factors that lead me in this direction. It’s a bit long but I didn’t want to leave out any details as all of them affected my decisions along the way. If you have any questions or need clarification please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to reply.

In the beginning…

“Set the WABAC machine Sherman to 2009...”

My road starts back in May 2009 when I clocked a 1:35 at the Delaware Half Marathon and I knew I had a real shot at qualifying for Boston in the fall. That was a great race, but I knew I didn’t have the stamina yet for a marathon. Since I was turning 45 that year and needed a 3:30 to qualify, I looked on my calendar for a good fall marathon to qualify. The Philly marathon was 30 minutes away from home but it was in late November and I wasn’t really keen on running my first masters marathon in cold conditions. The Baltimore marathon though was on October 10th, it was within driving distance and seemed like a good fit (except for the hill profile, yikes!). So I got my training plan together and got started training about 18 weeks out for Baltimore.

From my marathon experiences in my 20’s I remembered that I really needed to get my weekly mileage in the high 40’s consistently. For my first marathon in 1985 I was running around 30 to 35 miles per week but I wound up hitting the wall during like Wile E. Coyote around mile 17. I didn’t want a repeat of that so I planned accordingly.

Nine miles to go...

The more mileage, the better. Right?

My monthly mileage totals went from about 140 in the spring to over 200 in July and August. Looking back that was a pretty big jump, I was bound to have some issues and in September I started to get some bizarre cramps in the back of my knee. About three or four times in September it would hit me right as I started running, as if I had a ligament or tendon that was saying “Nope, not today Rob”. It happened 5 days before Baltimore which scared the pants off me. I was able to run and barely squeak out a BQ. About six weeks later in November, after my recovery, I started doing some lunges and stair-steppers to strengthen my knees. I found out later that this just fed into the problem and now I had Patella Tendinitis. In March of 2010, the day after a hard 10 miler, I felt my left knee buckle a bit. With Boston coming in about a month I got really concerned. I always realized I was a bit of a heel striker but with all the additional mileage I was heel striking even more so during my easy runs and long runs (which were about 70% of my mileage). This was due to over-striding with a slow cadence.

Heel Striking...HEEL STRIKING!!!!

I decided to make some major changes to my running and training routine. During the next year I focused on getting my form right and landing on my mid-foot/forefoot area. I went from static stretching prior to my runs to doing dynamic warm-ups. I performed moderate flexibility stretches but only after my workouts. My chiropractor recommended a great supplement Runovia and starting with the first week of using it, my patella tendonitis was practically non-existent. Runovia contains hyaluronan which is present in our joint fluid and is necessary for healthy joint function. I highly recommend it to anyone having issues with their joints.

My move away from traditional running shoes came in the fall of 2010 when Mizuno made some major changes to my go-to training shoe the Wave Rider. The shoe went from a neutral design to more of a stability/support shoe and I hated the feel. It felt heavy and stiff. By coincidence in the early spring of 2011 I started working with a Physical Therapist on some strengthening exercises while I was researching minimal running shoes. He was really a big help and being a runner and Boston finisher himself he was able to confirm a lot about what I read about the benefits of barefoot training and running in minimalist shoes.

Since I seem to be in continual training mode, I needed my transition to be gradual to avoid injury. I had to get in the hard workouts but not compromise my time goals in doing so. In my research I read about possible achilles issues if you move too quickly to shoes with a zero heel drop (i.e. no raised heel). I also read about some runners getting metatarsal fractures from doing too much too soon in Vibrams. In June 2011 I decided to start with the Saucony Kinvara for my first minimal shoe. Its pretty light weight (which I loved) and only has a 4mm heel raise compared to the traditional 12mm. I mixed those in my training with my old Wave Riders and I only did a few runs in the Kinvaras for the first week or two. I eventually went to about a 50/50 split between the Wave Riders and Kinvaras.

One small step for man…

Altra Instinct: Batman's got nothin' on this shoe, POW!

During those first weeks in the Kinvaras I did feel a little soreness in my achilles but it was manageable and nothing alarming. I kept the mileage mix at 50/50 until September of 2011 when I got my first pair of Altra Instincts. I can’t say enough about this shoe, it’s amazing. It’s a ZeroDrop shoe so your foot is parallel with the ground (as God intended). The toe box is huge, plenty of room for your toes to spread out. I feel primal when I’m wearing them. When I went for my first run in them I was struck by how much my feet were gripping the road, like my feet were clawing at the ground. I’ll caution you that they feel firmer that those squishy/cushioned shoes but you’ll have a better feel for the road, and that’s the point. A great review was done by Zak Branigan over at AverageGuyHitsTheRoad so check it out for more info.

I went 50/50 between the Kinvaras and the Instincts leading up to the Philly Marathon in 2011. I still had a some Achilles soreness but not much. I also bought a pair of Bikila LS Vibram Five Fingers for my Birthday in October but I only wore them around the house and out on a few errands. I wanted to start getting use to them before taking them out on the road and risk an injury before Philly.

I don’t want to work against my training by wearing heavy heeled shoes to work so once the marathon was over I went completely minimal in both my running and casual shoes. I bought a pair of Kigo Drives for the office which are really light. They have a very thin sole so you can get that surface feedback in your foot. I’m looking at also getting a pair of Vivo Barefoot Aquas or Merrill Barefoot Life Tough Gloves but right now they are a bit out of my price range. For running, the Instincts are my high mileage shoe so I wear those almost exclusively for training runs. I’m past my recovery phase from Philly so I’ve also been wearing the Vibrams for a mile or two during the cool down for each training run as well.

Since I’ve been adding miles in the Vibrams, I’m starting to feel a positive change to my gait and foot strike. This is even after working a good 18 months on my form. As a side note I’ve been practically injury free for well over a year. Your mileage may vary but going minimal has been one of my better training decisions.

Big Picture Timeline Summary:

July/Aug 2009: Increased mileage over 40% in 4 month time-span.
Sept 2009: First signs of knee problems.
Nov 2009: Self diagnosis and conditioning exacerbates the problem.
Spring 2010: Begin to focus on form and reducing heel striking. Started using Runovia.
Spring 2011: Physical Therapy accurately identifies the problem, confirms benefits of minimalist shoes and natural running form.
June 2011: Added Saucony Kinvara to training routine.
Sept 2011: Added Altra Instinct to training routine.
Nov 2011: Now wearing only minimalist shoes for training and casual wear. Integrating Vibrams into training program.

My form has improved but I’m still easily distracted...

To be continued…

2012: Pivot Year

Pivot (n): a person, thing, or factor having a major or central role, function, or effect.

2012 will be a pivot year for me. I recognize it as such because I’ve had one before. In 1999 I was getting ready to separate from the Air Force and all I had been up to that point in my adult life was a pilot. I flew airplanes for a living and I never saw myself as anything else. As I sent out applications to the major airlines something just didn’t feel right, I honestly wasn’t interested in ‘driving a bus’ for the next 30 years. No matter how glamorous some folks made it sound, I just wasn’t that excited about being away from home 2-3 weeks a month and getting up for work at 3AM.

Almost on a lark I decided to see what my value might be as an Engineer. My major was Electrical Engineering but I had done nothing with it and my knowledge in that field was well over 10 years old. Who in their right mind would hire me? Since the airlines weren’t calling me I didn’t just test the waters, I went all in. I sent out resumes, contacted head hunters and went on a bunch of interviews. To my shock I was offered positions at two different companies, near what I was currently making as an Air Force Captain on flying status. Twelve years, multiple certifications and a graduate degree later I’ve caught up with my peers and I’m well established in my current career field.

Now 2012 is beginning…and something doesn’t feel right. A year ago I would have been content to continue qualifying for Boston and be happy if my legs kept holding up. Now I want more. This year I’ve read everything I could get my hands on regarding training, injury prevention and performance. I’ve PR’d at every distance I’ve run in 2011 and I don’t feel like I’m anywhere near plateauing. It’s absolutely crazy to think that at 47 I could do something meaningful with my running, but I can’t accept not trying.

I started writing this post with a totally different topic in mind but this just came out on its own. I need to either succeed in this or fail spectacularly. Risk is relative and failure doesn’t scare me anymore. It feels like its time to go all in…

Designed to Run

Endurance produces character, and character produces hope

Tag Archives: personal