TiaRT - Fuel before my long run

Hmmmm.....I've tried a lot of different foods before my weekend long runs. Since I leave the house at 5:30 am and drive to my long run, I don't have much time to prepare breakfast. Typically, I always make myself a cup of coffee as soon as I get up and eat a 1/2 banana. I've tried 1/2 cup oatmeal and that worked okay. I don't usually eat much at 5:30 in the morning, so I've started to take Luna bars with me and I'll eat one during the run. I take SmartWater on every run, short, easy & long, along with Clif carb shots with caffeine. I stay away from anything with nuts and no dairy till after the run. It's worked for me. Last week I ran 11 miles, no problem.

10-11-12-13.1

In my post-Falmouth afterglow, I signed up for a half marathon on Oct. 4th on Cape Cod. When my mind cleared somewhat, I realized that I had to actually run 13 miles. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I had just finished running Falmouth, a 7 mile race, I felt great, and wanted to tackle something a bit more challenging. Imagine thinking there was something more challenging than Falmouth......when did that happen? I spent the better part of 2009 planning and dreaming of Falmouth, practically everything I did was geared toward running and finishing Falmouth. Now, afterwards, I was thinking of something more challenging? Runner's high most likely. Very high.

I bought a marathon & half marathon training book and got to work. Training plans for "the half" are all over the internet on various running websites. And all are different. Each time I found a half marathon training website, the plan was completely different than previous ones I had seen. Obviously, runners come in all different ability levels; one size clearly does not fit all.

I settled on a plan written by a Canadian sports physician and started from my last long run which was 8 miles. However, I only had till Oct 4th to get ready, so I decided to push it a bit.That meant that seven days after I ran Falmouth, I had to somehow run 10 miles. The day before I ran Falmouth, I had re-read Jeff Galloway's Training for 5K and 10K book for possibly the hundredth time and something caught my eye. He suggested that runners adopt a 5-6 minute run/ 1 minute walk routine early in a race in order to prevent fatigue from occurring. Once fatigue sets in, Galloway believes, the runner can never really overcome it; it's fatigue that ruins most runs, and is the culprit in many poor PRs. I used his strategy when I ran Falmouth; I ran for 5 minutes, then walked 1 minute. I repeated this 5/1 for the entire 7 miles. I finished without fatigue, saving my energy for the last few hundred feet. Had I not stopped to get my photo taken, I could have easily finished under 100 minutes.

Fast forward to the Sunday after Falmouth. My running partner Jan met me at the Cape Cod Canal. Jan's thinking about signing up for the half, but hasn't committed to it yet, so she's training for it with me just in case she decides to run it. We met at 6 am, hoping for an hour of coolness by the water before the heat settled in. We walked a half mile for warm-up and then proceeded to run an out and back: 5 miles out, 5 miles back, 1/2 mile cool-down walk. We thought we were going to die but we did it. We actually ran 10 miles on one of the hottest days of August, 5 minutes at a time. We told ourselves "we can run just 3 more minutes" "just 2 more minutes till our 1 minute walk" "we can certainly run one more tiny minute" and we did, for 10 hot, humid, exhausting miles.

Jan & I came prepared. We wore our hydration belts; we stocked them with Clif carb shots (WITH caffeine), Luna bars (NO nuts- bad for digestion during running per JG), dried fruit bars, and of course SmartWater, lots of it. Additionally, we lathered up with 70 spf sunscreen, and took Mister Fan along for the ride. Ten miles.

I went home and, according to Galloway, I immediately plunged my legs into a tub of ice cold water. It felt like heaven. My leg muscles were somewhat sore that evening, but 24 hrs later, the soreness was gone. Jan & I ran again 2 days later.

A heat wave settled over the Northeast last week, creating unusually hot & humid conditions even for Cape Cod. Blistering is the only word to describe the weather here. Jan & I tried to run our Tuesday 6am easy 5 mile run around the neighborhood, but had to discontinue it after mile 2. Same for Thursday's run - blistering hot by 6:30am. As a result, I got in all of 4 miles all week. So much for my training plan.

This past Saturday I had to run the canal without Jan. This week my training plan required an 11 mile run. So I ran 11 miles, 5 minutes at a time, 5.5 out, 5.5 back, Clif shots, Smart Water, Luna bars & all. After a 20 minute ice water leg bath, I continued my Saturday activities (which included putting together a media cabinet I recently bought at Crate & Barrel) with no leg soreness at all.

I ran 11 miles on Saturday and maintained a 15 minute mile in a miserable heat wave and that's ok with me. It's unbelievable what the human body is capable of doing if we just give it a chance to show us. Next week 12 miles: 6 out, 6 back, 5 minutes at a time. Briana thinks I can do it; so do I. Thanks Jeff!

Basking in the After-Glow of Falmouth

I'm basking in after-glow this week. I feel an elation I cannot adequately describe. The Falmouth Road Race goal is now on my "Races Completed 2009" list. It's still amazing to me that Falmouth is over, that I actually was lucky enough to run in it, and that I finished strong and upright. That's all I wanted.

I didn't run Falmouth for attention. I didn't run it for accolades (although my family's praise certainly helped me get out there and run when I wanted to stay in bed). I ran it for me. I ran Falmouth to say to myself that being over 60 wasn't a slowly advancing death sentence but an opportunity to embrace this time in my life and enjoy it. When I realized just how healthy I was/am, I made the decision to do whatever I could to maintain this gift. And running seemed the natural choice. Initially I started running for my mental health - to ease a sense of sadness, loss & failure of a family relationship gone sour. But I soon realized that running was giving me much much more than improved mood. Running was sending me messages of hope and for a life to be lived to its fullest.

This experience has given me an incredible gift. I now believe in my body's abilities. My body continues to work for me if I just listen to it and give it the opportunity to show me what it was designed to do.

I have never allowed my age to drive my ambitions, certainly not professionally, and not with running, even with regard to speed. I started out as a painfully slow runner, but since I've been running the hills of my neighborhood, I've noticed I have more stamina during my runs and definitely improved times. I remember many 20 minute miles running on my treadmill in January of this year. I've recently run 13 minute miles along the flat Cape Cod canal. My average time during the Falmouth race was 14.4 minute mile. Again, not to diminish my performance, but had I not stopped for pictures (what was I thinking?) I think I could have finished under 100 minutes. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to run Falmouth again next year (entry is by lottery for non-Falmouth residents) and test my hypothesis.

This week I signed up for the October 4th Harwich Cranberry Festival Half Marathon. Between now and 10/4, I will train to run 13.1 miles. My longest run was 8 miles a few weeks ago (Falmouth is a 7.1 mi race). So far I've managed a 5.5 mi run and a 6.5 mi run this week. So far, so good. My daughter-in-law, the marathoner, thinks I can do it. That's good enough for me.

Additionally, I'm registered for the October 25th Cape Cod Marathon Relay. I put together a relay team this summer and our team will be meeting soon to go over the race route and decide on our relay strategy.

And if those races aren't enough, the other day my daughter-in-law mentioned the women-only Mother's Day Half Marathon in Central Park NYC. Yes yes yes - I'll be there! Perhaps we'll run together.

My son qualified for the New York City Marathon. I'll be there to support him and see him run - a huge day for our family of runners. I'm thrilled to be able to write that sentence.

Falmouth Road Race

Falmouth Road Race is a memory now. And what a terrific memory it is!

I met my goal to finish strong and upright - no medical tent or EMTs for me. My time was 1:41:39 - better than I expected, but hopefully better next year.

The weather was perfect for running - sunny with high puffy clouds, an off-shore breeze to keep the runners cool, low humidity, and temps between 75 & 80 - a day made for racing on Cape Cod.

There were 10,448 runners registered and it looked as though 1/2 of them were in my group - we were the runners with a yellow background behind our number. The runners with faster times than us were placed in two other groups - the blue group & green group - and were given earlier start times. My start time was 10:12 am but I don't think I actually crossed the start line till 10:14 am.

My preparation began Friday. I read about pre-race preparation and devised a hydration and nutrition strategy that I hoped would pay off (www.jeffgalloway.com). Saturday I ate a fairly large breakfast with lots of protein, then ate a very small lunch - crabmeat rollup & fruit - and began to drink my electrolyte beverage of choice - SmartWater. I tried to drink the recommended 4 quarts, but got 3 quarts down and that was enough. I avoided dairy, peanut butter, all fats, salads, veggies, fried foods & nuts. I drank a few soy milk protein shakes during the evening and finished up with 2 waffles with jelly around 10 pm.

On the day of the race, I began hydrating myself at 6 am - 6 oz every hour. I packed breakfast and tons of bottled water because we arrived at the race start 2 hrs before start time. With 10,448 runners required to take buses to the starting point, I got on the 2nd bus out of Falmouth. We arrived at Woods Hole at 8am. About an hr and a half before the start of the race, I ate dry shredded wheat, a banana, and a Luna bar. And drank water - water - water.

So I wondered to myself - what on earth would Elaine (my running friend) and I do for 2 hours before the race started? Answer: stand in Porta-Potty lines! 10,000+ runners all in line - an amazing sight :D We ate our nutrition & carb bars, drank our H20, and immediately got into a PP line - each took about a half hr & by the time I arrived at my PP destination - I was ready to use it. Then drank more H20 and stood in line for another 30-40 min. Did that 3 times, quite hilarious.

My running plan, again from Jeff Galloway's many running books, was to walk before I got tired, so I ran 5 minutes, walked 1 minute. Except for when I encountered lots of spectators and a band. Then I ran like crazy! My son told me to conserve my energy for the last 2 miles, which I think I did.

The Star-Spangled Banner was sung at the start of the race, there was an incredible silence during it, and then we were off.

Mile One: This was really no problem. I walked the first 1/2 mile just because I couldn't run - too many people ahead of me in my group. I started running at 1/2 mi and immediately encountered a small hill which I was prepared for. Mile one covered a lovely tree-shaded neighborhood and I began to notice the spectators - which I'd heard about from former FRR runners. They were sitting on the sidewalks in front of their houses ringing cowbells & waving to us, yelling "good luck runners!" They were a wonderful send-off to us.

Mile Two: At around Mile 2 we entered a woodsy hilly area and ran on a state road, so few houses and few spectators. I'm wondering where are all the water stations? I'm thirsty! None at this point. My legs were not happy. I hadn't run since Sunday and I was stiff. Rested and stiff! I reminded myself that this always happens to me between miles 2 & 3. My legs are asking what the heck are you doing? I push on because I know I have to use my mind at this point. I tell myself "don't be a ninny; all you have to do is run 5 minutes then you can walk a minute or 2 if you need to. Just run 5 minutes".

Mile Three: I arrived at Mile 3 in 44 minutes. My legs are fine. I'm gliding in my own rhythm, running my plan. My knee is fine - can't feel a thing. All systems go.

The FRR fans were there and they had water tables set up for us. A few people were spraying the runners with garden hoses. I took advantage of every water station and every hose. I probably ran soaking wet for most of the race. They waved and played great running music from boom boxes that were placed strategically on the sidewalks. There was a guy playing his guitar about here although I don't remember the exact place, singing "She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes". I purposely ran fast & in time with his guitar when I passed his house. Spectators yelled "almost half-way there" and "keep running" "don't ever give up!". I was amazed at the outpouring of love and encouragement from the crowds. I didn't expect it and I was incredibly touched by their collective kindness. I started waving & saying "thank you" as I ran past them to Mile 4.

Mile Four - Mile 4 includes a stretch of beach road that runs alongside Vineyard Sound. It is literally a stone's throw from the ocean. What a magnificent view! We all enjoyed the cool breeze coming off the water and thanked the weather gods for this glorious day that was made for running. Again, big crowds lined the beach road with music from boom boxes and a live band, garden hoses (thanks to all who "hosed me" - love you!), kids with noise makers and more water! Finally - water tables - lots of water tables! Thank you!! I drank some water from every table - usually when I did my 1 minute walk. Someone shouted "Great run Suzanne!" and I looked to see if I recognized her. I didn't but ran on. I soon realized that the crowds were calling out the runners' names from their number forms pinned to our shirts! "Great run Bob!" "You can do it Jennifer!" I could not believe the outpouring of affection they were giving us. It made me run when I wanted to walk, made me run faster when I was sort of cruising. I appreciated each and every person and wished I could have personally thanked them all.

Mile Five: Mile 5 begins somewhere after we leave the beach road and enter the town of Falmouth. This is as far as I've run on this route before. From here to the finish line, I have no idea what to expect. We run past Falmouth Harbor on our right, past the Flying Bridge restaurant at the harbor and I think of memorable lobster dinners there with my family. At this point, I recall reading about carb deficiencies in leg muscles, so I pull out my Clif carb blocks and eat a couple. I hope that they help my leg muscles to stay strong. I don't know if they did but I had plenty of energy to keep going.

Mile Six: There are tons of crowds here. We've turned on to the next to the last street before "The Heights" and the finish line. People are waving and telling us "you've just finished a 10K!!". I love the huge red, white & blue painted numbers on the road - 6 - I can't miss it. I've just run my first 10K and I'm fine! Walk 1 minute, run 5 minutes - still working for me. I love the little kids that lined the roads - they hold out their hands and are thrilled when a runner comes over and high fives them as we run past them. The little ones hand out cups of water and oranges. They seem like they're having a great time shaking their hand-made noisemakers: pebbles in plastic water bottles!

Mile Seven: We round the curve at the end of the street and come upon Vineyard Sound again and the last hill. It's huge, most runners ahead of me are walking it, and I decide to walk up the first half and then run up to the top so I would be fresh for the last 1/2 mile. There's a man sitting on a tall chair taking photos of the runners coming up that hill, so I stop & smile for my picture. Those 2 decisions probably ruined my chances of coming in under 100 minutes. Oh well.

As I crest the hill, I looked down for a moment to take in the scene: I saw thousands of runners milling around on the grass overlooking the beach, and spectators under tents, a huge "Finish" sign hung across the road, music blaring, and best of all, my beloved wife standing at the bottom of the hill waving furiously to me. She was screaming "Come on come on - run!" as she told me later. All I could see was Patti jumping up and down, waving her arms and smiling. I decided to run as fast as I possibly could. I checked my new Polar watch and I realized I was going to finish before 12 noon, the official end of the timed portion of the race. I ran down the hill, across the finish line, and into her arms. We hugged and cried. She told me she was so proud of me. She cried and said "You did it, you did it!". (I told her later this must have been what it was like when her softball team beat Perry's). I finished strong, came in upright, no medical tent, no EMT (there were plenty of people who needed help). It was one of the best days of my life.

The runners were corralled down & around to the ballpark, where hundreds of volunteers were at their food stations giving out hot dogs, fruit cocktail, chips, and fruit drinks. I sat down on the cool grass & ate a hot dog - oh so good. We took pictures, and watched the awards ceremony. My son called to congratulate me on running this race & finishing strong - he told me I could have coasted to retirement thinking that running and new frontiers were part of my distant youth, but I didn't and he was so proud of me. What a thrilling moment to hear that from him.

And then it was over. We walked 2 miles back to our parked car, dropped Elaine off at her house and went home for a shower & a nap. We were still pretty jazzed up, so we went to Spanky's in Hyannis for lobster rolls & raw oysters. It doesn't get any better than that on a summer evening on Cape Cod.

So my journey to the Falmouth Road Race is complete. Many thanks to all who were with me every step of the way and gave me their love, support, running tips, and their unending faith that I could do it - Chris, Briana, Avery, Beth, Jan, and of course, the love of my life - Patti.

Happy running everyone!

Almost Falmouth

It's sunny, hot & humid on Cape Cod today. Training's over. Falmouth is 5 days from today. I won't run again till the race. I want my legs fresh and my body ready to run. I've done about as much as I could to prepare to finish this race, the largest and most well-attended road race on Cape Cod. http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/

I've read the books & blogs, bought the shoes (2 pr so far) & the microfiber socks, the Nike shorts & Mizuna tops that wick sweat away. I purchased the runner's sunblock (not impressed - I don't sweat), hydration belt (love it!), and the Luna bars.

I adapted Jeff Galloway's run/walk training to fit my schedule - 2 easy runs and a long run on the weekends, each long run 10% longer than the previous long run. My last long run was 8 miles.

I learned to hydrate the night before a training run with water containing electrolytes, then more hydration, a banana, & a cup of coffee 2 hrs before the run. I should own stock in Smart Water by now. I learned to never run on an empty stomach. When I followed these few rules, I ran well, easily, and without problems. When I didn't, I paid a heavy price and learned that the rules of running were there for a reason.

I joined a gym and started working out to improve my "core strength". I bought work-out DVDs to lose a little extra weight. Note to self: ditch the DVDs, especially those with lunges & squats - most knees don't like these activities, particularly the one named "The Surrender". If it sounds horrible - trust me, it is.

My daughter-in-law, the marathoner, gave me her unlimited time & guidance, who coached me when I needed her and & helped me stay positive & focused while I recovered from the 3 injuries I sustained, all to the same knee, since January. Although none were caused by running, they cut into my training timetable and just about drove me nuts as I iced, elevated, and waited. Her patience and guidance were exactly what I needed. She was never too busy to talk running with me.

My son's amazement & pride on my development as a distance runner is a constant source of encouragement for me. I love that he is proud of me. He and my daughter-in-law are my inspiration. What can I say - I adore my kids.

I ran twice with my Everything - my 13 year old granddaughter. She taught me how to adjust my form, and echoed her track coach's words to me for encouragement as we ran up Killer-manjaro. I ran up KMJ in one minute - a PR for me - with Avery. It doesn't get any better than that.

I've met wonderful fellow runners along the canal who encouraged me during all the spring & summer training runs. A special thanks to my friend Elaine for agreeing to run Falmouth with me. It's a first for her too. We're going to have a blast.

I have a terrific running partner in Jan. Jan actually drove to my house at 6am to run with me on most of my hill training days and together we tackled the hills around my neighborhood. We treated ourselves to the magnificent view of Cape Cod Bay after mile 4, marveling at its beauty at that hour of the day."Remember, when we get to mile 4 - we have The View!" we'd say and looked forward to seeing it. We ran the length of the Cape Cod Canal together for my Sunday morning long runs when everyone else in our lives was either asleep or enjoying a leisurely breakfast & coffee with their Sunday Globes and Cape Cod Times. We chatted and caught up on the mundane & the dramatic in our lives. "Have I taught you nothing?" became our mantra when one of us forgot one of our essential rules of running. Through laughter, tears, Smart Water, and Mister Fan, Jan & I accomplished our individual goals together. Although Jan won't be running the Falmouth Road Race this year, she'll be there at the finish line to experience what she helped me accomplish. We're teamed up for the Cape Cod Marathon Relay in October and I have a feeling she'll be "running Falmouth" with me next year. I can't thank her enough for her steadfast friendship.

My spouse Pat is my #1 fan and without her quiet wisdom & unfailing support for just about everything I have ever done (including 10 years pursuing a PhD that came in mighty handy), I never would have gotten this far in my life, especially with this new running gig. I owe her a debt of gratitude I can never repay. Let's drive 65 miles to the Nike outlet store - no problem. Set the alarm & make me coffee at 5:15 am? - Jan's coming at 6! - done. How do I look in this clunky hydration belt? "Not fat" :D. She's been to both 5Ks that I ran for practice, was right there at the finish line yelling for me to finish strong. During my first race, when all the other runners had left me in the dust, she drove behind me, shining her high beams on me while I ran along a very dark shore route on a cold night in February because I insisted on finishing the race. She's searched the internet for tips on running, came home with all kinds of runner stuff ("I saw this and thought you should have it") & bought me the best gift any runner could have - Mister Fan - a small hand-held battery-operated fan that also sprays a cool water mist. I (almost) never left home without it once the warm weather arrived. These and a hundred more everyday occasions - unsung but never unnoticed - happened every day since January. Thanks for Mister Fan, Patti, and thank you for another perfect day. "Never a dull moment" and it's only just begun, after 30 years together.

So training's over. It's been an incredible journey - one of fun and self-discovery. Falmouth here I come. I can't wait.