September 30th: Itching to Get Back on the Road

A good morning at the gym -- really challenging.

I’m not going to bore you with a rundown of all my sets like I have in previous posts. Hit me up if you’re interested. A few highlights:

• As I mentioned last week, adding a 16kg kettlebell to my squats has seriously intensified that workout. I use that same kettlebell for the jugglers, which is also hardcore exercise.
• I’m pretty close to maxing out the leg press machine. I did 2 sets of 12 at 350 pounds. I imagine my 1rm would be more than the 400-pound max. Guess I’ll need to go to single leg presses. I held off on that third set because I felt a little twinge in the MTSNBN. (And yes, I iced when I got home.)
• Bumped up the Cable Cross twists by 40 percent, to 35 pounds. Made a huge difference.
• I tried dumbbell curls, 20 pounds each arm. Maybe should’ve tried these earlier in my workout -- made it through a set and a half before my arms were just dead.

I mention that last one because I’m thinking increasingly about getting more free weights into my workout. Two problems: I don’t know what I’m doing, and I don’t know anyone at the gym to be a spotter. The second problem I’m sure I could rectify pretty easily -- most people at my gym seem pretty friendly. But I’m much less sure about jumping in at the deep end of free weights. I know that I really need to work dead lifts and squats into my workout, and start bench pressing for real instead of on the machine. But I'm really unsure of technique, and frankly, that side of the gym is a little intimidating. Not because I think anyone would give me a hard time, but I guess it just feels like the big leagues. Anyway, any advice anyone could offer would be most welcome. And a question: Will I get close to the same benefit from maxing out on machines, or do I really want to engage my stabilizing muscles?

I'm really itching to get back on the road. It's been a full week since I've done any running now, and I don't know how much longer I can stay patient -- especially since the MTSNBN seems mostly better. Even as I was walking into the gym, I saw people on treadmills and was jealous. 

One last thing: You may have seen in a previous post that I was kicking around joining the Planet Fitness that's opening nearby, because it's so much closer. I've decided against. The whole "no grunting" thing is a turnoff, but I spun by there last weekend just to see the deal, and the salesperson...well, I won't say she was outright rude, but she failed to make a positive first impression. If that's representative of their employees, no thanks.

I'm thinking elliptical tomorrow. Maybe just do some quick core stuff first.

September 26th: Cough, Cough, Sniffle, Sniffle

Quick non-exercise note today. For the first time since I started exercising in March, I’ve caught a cold -- thanks to my daughter. Although I feel pretty crappy and am hopped up on Sudafed, I’m choosing to look at this as serendipitous, because it’ll keep me from rushing back on the MTSNBN a second time. Might cost me my long this week, but that’s just gonna have to be OK. 

September 25th: Gym Day

Quick post today.

Hit the gym today -- it's been a week, and I'm still nursing the Muscle That Shall Not Be Named. Mostly core work, with a little bit of other stuff thrown in.

• Vertical knee raises: 3 sets of 12 -- First set and 9 of second set were straight leg lifts.
• Ab coaster: 3 sets each straight, turned left, turned right.
• Bicycle crunches: 3 sets of 12 (I think I threw a couple extra in there.)
• Lying knee raise: 2 set of 12
• Sitting bench press: 3 drop-weight sets, 130/8 reps-110/9 reps-90/9 reps. 
• Leg press: 3 sets of 12, 300-300-285. (Threw a couple extra in there too.)
• Lower back extension: 3 sets of 12 at 255
• Cable Cross twists: 3 sets of 12 on each side, first set at 25, last two at 20.
• Cable Cross chest pulls: 2 sets of 12, 25-20.
• Kettlebell squats: Used a small one for my first go at this, 3 sets of 12. Great exercise! Good core work and gets you a little winded.
• Kettlebell juggles: 3 sets of about 20 each (lost count).

But today's story is that I woke up 10 minutes later than usual and was rushing -- and so I forgot both my hand towel and water bottle. Fortunately, I wore a sweatshirt, so that substituted for the towel. But I had to hit the water fountain four or five times throughout my workout, so that was a drag.

Tomorrow I'd like to do some more core exercises -- crunches, squats, planks. Need to teach myself how to do a side plank. Then I'll give the elliptical 30 minutes, give the MTSNBN a little more rest.

September 23rd: Go Lily!

I have a lot to talk about today, but really no unifying theme. Today was a relatively short four-miler.

• Since I felt guilty about not taking the dog yesterday (too long for her), I gave in and brought her along today. I probably lost about 45 seconds overall due to a poop stop and a couple times where we got our signals crossed. But she still had gas in the tank at the end, which is a good sign. I imagine the cooler temps helped her a lot.
• Speaking of those cooler temps, it was outright chilly today, especially with the wind. It’s getting to be time to invest in some long-sleeve gear.
• OK, here’s the deal on the calf: It hurt a little bit today. But there’s a lot of reason for optimism. First, the twinges are much more acute, meaning that the discomfort isn’t radiating up or down. Also, the muscle overall was loose, not tight. Second, focusing on my form is definitely helping. The overall discomfort was far less than on previous runs. Run upright, use your hips, land mid-foot, no big kick or bounce. And lastly, a quick icedown afterward made a huge difference.
• I am still lousy at judging my pace. I knew I wanted to start out relatively slow today, both to see how my calf felt and to continue focusing on form. But I wasn’t thinking 10:07 for a first mile! Second mile was about 9:30 (with a quick stop for a photo), miles 3 and 4 were in the 8:20 range. I don’t want to be overly focused on pace, but with limited time in the mornings, it is important that I get my miles in. And, frankly, I really enjoyed that faster pace once I got cranking.
• Oh, the photo. I’m sure everyone’s getting tired of those “look way out over the water, there’s New York” pics, but the sun angle and the little bit of clouds really made this a spectacular shot.

Not sure what tomorrow is yet. I know that I need to start logging more miles, but I also don’t want to ignore my strength training -- and I really don’t have time to do both effectively. Also, the day is coming soon enough where I’ll be training on the treadmill, and I sort of want to enjoy the outdoor runs while I can.

Total mileage since starting the blog: 42.5.

September 22nd: Back to Work

Ahhh... It felt so good to get back out there this morning.

I logged 8 miles at almost exactly 10:00 per mile. That's slower than what I've done previously, but I wasn't really focusing too much on time today. Instead, I really wanted to pay attention to form, and obviously, I needed to be sure my calf would hold up -- and those two things are really interrelated concepts, aren't they? I actually wanted to go a bit longer, but I ran out of time because I had to go pick up my daughter after a sleepover.

First of all, I really want to thank everyone for all your advice over the past week. I really took a lot of it to heart and I think incorporated it into my workout today. As I said, I focused a lot on form over time, and I iced down afterward.

My route was pretty similar to the last long run. Out to the water and along the walkway. Apparently, I'm not the only one who doesn't really care that it's supposed to be closed. There were a lot of people fishing today. I have no idea what was running. It was also very breezy down by the water. In the direction I was going when I took this shot, I was running right into it.

I also went down to Pirate's Cove park, and -- surprise -- Old Bridge has fixed its wood walkway, which Sandy also took a big chunk of. I've been looking forward to running it, and it was so pleasant that I did another loop and ran it a second time. It affords a little bit of a different view from what I see in Cliffwood Beach. There's the Verrazano out in the distance.

Anyway, as I said, I ran relatively slowly so that I could really pay attention to my form. One thing I've realized is that I bounce too much, so I focused on my footfalls. No high kicks or bouncing, make sure to land mid-foot and not on my heel. And part of doing that is running through your hips, through your gut. Lean back and let your big glutes and hamstrings do the heavy lifting and take pressure off of...drumroll...your calves. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I also felt plenty of stamina when I finished up my 8 miles.

Well, considering I did this the day after a big Rutgers game and tailgate, I feel pretty good overall. Not sure if tomorrow is another run or a gym day. Might depend on when I wake up.

Total mileage since starting the blog: 38.5.

September 19th: Yaarr! Keelhaul That Calf Muscle!

Day three of trying to heal up my calf. Is it feeling better? Definitely. Do I still have twinges when I bend a certain way or come down on it too hard going down the stairs? Also definitely.

I switched up my week a little bit, mostly because I had an opportunity to sleep in a little bit yesterday. So I hit the gym today, and as promised, I focused on core work and really stayed away from anything I thought would bother my calf. I did a rotation on the lat machine, one on the Cable Cross machine and then some random other stuff:

• Lat pulldowns: 3 sets of 12, 80-70-60. Felt good. Might go to 90 next time.
• Tricep presses: 3 sets of 12, 40-30-30. I hate these.
• Body-weight squats: 3 sets of 12. Too easy. Probably have to add in a kettlebell or do a variation like kickout squats.
• Cable Cross twists: 3 sets of 12 on each side at 25 pounds. You really have to focus on your core section or you’ll let your back do the work.
• Cable Cross chest pulls: 3 sets of 12, 25-25-20.
• Ab coaster: 2 sets of 12, straight forward and turned each way (so 72 total).
• Bicycle crunches: 2 sets of 12
• Those flat-back knee raises: 2 sets of 12
• Vertical straight-leg lifts and knee raises on the dip station: 1 set of straight leg, 1 set half each, 1 set of knee raises. Next time I watch a gymnast on the rings, I’ll have a far greater appreciation of the difficulty.

I also brought my cold wrap with me and put it around my calf for the drive home. I don’t know if it helped anything, since I really hadn't put any pressure on my legs, but it certainly didn’t hurt. That might be worth doing every time, at least in the short term.

I really hate thinking and writing about this stupid calf. First of all, I’ve spent the last 72 hours feeling like I’m disabled, when really, it’s just a Grade 1 strain. Second, this is the sort of thing I would be paying no mind except that it’s keeping me from running. And finally, it’s killing me not to be able to get out and run. I really hope I’m good to go by Sunday so I can do my long.

Oh, the title: Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

September 17th: Change of Plans

Change of plans for today and the next few days: a little rest and rehab.

In a couple entries, I’ve mentioned that I’ve had some intermittent calf pain. It’s worse on running days and feels significantly better after a night’s rest. It’s not debilitating, and generally speaking, the impact of foot strikes is to blame. Yesterday, it hurt pretty good in the afternoon. Now I’m a pretty stubborn guy, but I woke up this morning and decided that it’s a much better idea to try to get this under control now, seven months out, than in the thick of hard-core training in February.

A little Internet research has essentially confirmed what I suspected: I just need to give the thing a little break.

So rather than go out for my planned run today, I headed down to the gym and got on the elliptical. I did a full hour on the random resistance setting at a pretty good clip. I have no idea about mileage, because the thing said I’d gone 15 miles, which seems rather unlikely. But I was huffing and puffing at the end, so I’m going to say it was the cardio equivalent of an hour-long run. I will say this: The resistance goes from 1 to 20, and a couple of intervals in the program are at 18, which is freaking hard!

I’ll keep the impact on the leg to a minimum the next few days and see where things stand. If I can’t get my long in this weekend, it’ll be a hard-core Sunday morning at the gym. Tomorrow I think will be strength training only, focusing on my core.

September 16th: Back on My Grind -- Gym Day

Gym day today.

I always do my strength training first, basically because if I start with cardio, I’ll skip the weights. One of my challenges is that I really have just an hour in the gym, because I don’t like to leave before my daughter is on the school bus, which is around 6:25. (Apparently a Planet Fitness is opening closer to my house. I’ll have to take a long look at that. As much as I like Work Out World, it’s a 13-minute drive each way.) So after my warmup (five minutes on the elliptical, because it moves both arms and legs), I did just two rotations: core and upper body.

• Vertical knee raises: 3 sets of 12
• Ab coaster: 6 sets of 12, 3 turned in each direction
• Bicycle crunches: 3 sets of 12
• Lying knee raise: 1 set of 12 (I don’t know what this is actually called, but I lie on the floor and extend my legs out straight, then pull them in, never allowing them to touch the floor.)
• Sitting bench press: 3 drop-weight sets, 130-110-90. Got it up 9 times, so I’m making progress there.
• Butterfly: 3 drop-weight sets, 90-80-70. Did 9s of each weight.
• Back extension: 2 sets of 230

Then onto the treadmill. As I mentioned, time constraints are a big factor here. So to challenge myself, I usually do incline work on the treadmill. Today I cranked it up to about a 9:00/mile pace and varied the incline, 2, 2.5 and 3 percent. I did a 5K that way and was moderately worn out by the end -- especially the last quarter-mile, which I did at 3 percent incline.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m really focusing on running upright -- as I read in a book recently, running with your gut. That’s especially challenging on the incline, but I think that kind of work will pay strength dividends down the road.

One other thing that will help my training regimen is that after this Saturday’s game, I don’t have any tailgates for a month. Gatorade is usually winning, but beer is still derailing things a bit too frequently.

Tomorrow, I’m thinking pace run. Maybe I’ll take the dog.

Total mileage since starting this blog: 30.5.

September 13th: What a Difference a Day Makes

After yesterday's failure, I couldn't be feeling better about my run today. 10 miles at a 9:27 pace.

I knew I was going for distance today, but I hadn't really planned my route. I have a few general courses I can run and combine, so I wasn't too worried. But after yesterday, I figured my best bet was not to get too far from home, in case I ran out of gas.

So I added some distance onto my 5K route. I started down the block, rather than at my house, and I ran out on the waterfront walkway (the one that's technically still closed). I haven't really said much about this spot yet, but the walkway runs roughly where the old Cliffwood Beach boardwalk was. It boasted all the attractions you'd expect, most notably an enormous salt-water pool. If you go looking for it, you can still find remnants of the pool, all overgrown and collapsed. But if you look into the water from the walkway, you can see a few pilings from the old boardwalk.

Once I'd done that out and back, I resumed the 5K route, then made a right to head toward the beach and over the creek into Old Bridge. Captain Kidd's treasure is allegedly buried somewhere in or near that creek. A loop in Pirate's Cove Park, then another long block, and back toward home.

I got back to my house a little after seven miles. I'd planned this so that I could grab a quick drink, because I don't carry a water bottle. (More on that later.) Then back to the course. Back out toward the water one more time, another out and back on the walkway, and I'd done nine miles. I was definitely running out of gas at this point. So up the big hill, and then I basically just pushed myself to get to 10. I was still almost a mile from home when I stopped, but I needed the cooldown, anyway.

A few things:

• I sweat a lot. I lost way too much fluid. Stopping off for a quick drink was a good start, but I'm going to have to start wearing a belt or something. I'd estimate I lost at least three pounds of fluid.
• I forgot my facecloth. It really would have been nice to wipe the sweat from the tip of my nose.
• Miles 9 and 10 were really tough. My legs probably started feeling it around the 7-mile mark, but my wind started to fail me in those last two. My last mile was pretty slow.
• I've still been thinking about training programs. I think what I really want to do is build as much endurance as I can, and then use Galloway's run-walk method when I need it -- maybe not until the race itself. I've also realized that with seven months to go, I have a lot of flexibility in my training. 10 miles is well ahead of the novice starting point, and I'm sure that will be higher when I get to about 20 weeks out.
• I'll see how much speedwork I'm able to do, but I may need to be a bit less ambitious on time. 9:30s are comfortable for me. 9:10s are pushing it. 
• I'm really starting to understand the benefit of having a strong core. When you run upright, you use more of your glutes, which are bigger and more powerful than your hammys and calves. You can definitely feel the difference.

Tomorrow's an off day for Rutgers Football. I'm thinking gym on Sunday, then tempo or interval on Monday.

Total miles since starting this blog: 27.3

September 12th: Failure

I’d characterize today’s run as a failure. I’d set out for a 6-mile pace run, but I managed just 4.5 before I was fried. Here’s what I learned:

• I still am no good in the humidity. Conditions are a huge variable for me. Saturday I went 8.15 and wanted more. Tuesday I did 4.68 at a faster pace with the dog in tow, and I had more in the tank.

• My lack of experience is going to be a problem for a while still. Even with MapMyRun calling out my mile splits, I’m lousy at judging my pace. After a 9:30 first mile, I was under 9:00s the rest of the way. That’s faster than my intended pace, and certainly faster than I should have been going in today’s conditions.

• All in all, I still have a long way to go before I can feel confident in what I’m doing. Yeah, I’ve gone close to 10 miles once, but that’s a far cry from 26.2 or even 13.1. It’s probably good that I get knocked down a peg.

On the bright side, my calf held up well, and tomorrow’s conditions are supposed to be significantly better. I’m still hoping to get a good long run in.

Today’s pic is from the Keyport waterfront. Normally you’d see the Verrazano in the background.

Total mileage since starting this blog: 17.35 miles.

Tuesday, September 10th: Gym Day, and Pondering the Future

Today was a lifting day, for a couple of reasons:

• My right calf has been barking at me on and off for a month or so now. It's not serious -- never slows me down or forces me to limp later or anything -- but it always feels better with a little bit of rest. Lifting doesn't bother me -- not even leg presses.
• I firmly believe that building lean muscle is going to be a big component of my marathon training. Every gym workout includes some core work, which I think helps with my form, especially on hills. But I do a lot of upper-body work, too. I'm sure that will help with arm swing and possibly other form issues, but more importantly, I'd rather carry muscle than fat. 

So today's workout:

• Drop-weight sets on sitting bench press (130-110-90 - might be a bit much for me, since I'm only getting 130 up 6 times), butterfly (90-80-70) and leg press (330-305-280)
• Three sets of lunges, 12 each on each leg; three sets of bosu crunches holding a 10lb dumbell above me with straight arms, 12 each set; 3 30-second planks
• Drop-weight sets of lat pulldowns (80-70-60) and tricep presses (40-30-30)

But my emphasis on resistance training sort of leads me to the other topic of the day: What training program to embark upon? I've been doing a lot of reading up. There are parts of Higdon I like, and there are parts of Galloway I like. But neither is perfect, and neither feels exactly right for me.

• As I mentioned above, I want to incorporate more weight training in than either of them do. In fact, Higdon's Novice1 makes no provision for resistance training and advises against it unless it's already part of your routine.
• I'm just not down with the Galloway run/walk method. I may use it to some degree in the race, but I'm not persuaded that it actually improves your fitness levels more than just running does. (I saw some really good advice of simply walking through the hydration stations, which is really just 15 seconds every mile and a half, but also ensures that your fluids go into your body, not down the front of your shirt.) Also, the argument for employing it is that you save some strength for later in the race, when you really need it. Now perhaps when I start getting into 15+ runs, I'll be singing a different tune, but generally in my longs, my last mile is my strongest. 
• My big problem with Higdon is that you never go more than 20 in training. He actually says "race-day magic" will carry you the other six. Now I know that thousands of people have successfully finished marathons using this method, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of expecting some magical store of energy to carry me to the finish just as I'm depleting my last little bit of glycogen. 

I have some other reservations about following one of these programs, or any of the others out there:

• I'm a novice runner as far as experience goes, but my body is well past the starting point for the novice programs. I need to challenge myself in different ways than the programs I've read would.
• Though I recognize that finishing a marathon is a special achievement and not something you can do every day, I think that focusing on it as a zenith, a crescendo, is not the same as a lifelong commitment to fitness. I don't want to have really high peaks and really low valleys. The marathon itself isn't the goal. Being fit enough to incorporate them into my life is the goal.

So I think my next move is to take the parts of all the plans I've seen and combine them with the experience I've gained on the road and in the gym, and design a plan that works for me. It will probably be a good idea to consult with a coach or trainer to make sure I'm dotting my I's and crossing my Ts, but I think ultimately, I need to do what works for me, not follow a rigid regimen just because it's what has worked for other people. 

Tomorrow will be an off day. It's 9/11, and I feel like talking about calf soreness and mileage would just be inappropriate. I'll come back strong on Thursday, and I'm still hoping to get my long in on Friday so I can enjoy Rutgers football on Saturday.

September 9th: A Nice View, and Chasing Tempo

First off, I thought I’d take a shot of the view I get every time I run in my neighborhood. It’s not a bad pick-me-up when you’re huffing and puffing.

Today, I thought I was going to do a tempo run. I also got guilted into taking the dog with me. (The dog did the guilting.) I hit the end of mile one: 9:25. That is not tempo. Granted, having the dog slows me down a little bit, but I really can’t account for why I was going so slow when I thought I was setting a nice pace. My first mile is always my worst, but I was way slow.

So most of the rest of today’s run was an exercise in chasing the sub-9:00 average. I have to say, the conditions were perfect, except right by the water, where there was a pretty good breeze that actually slowed me down when I was heading into it. I did the down-and-back on the waterview walkway (ssshhh, it’s technically closed since Sandy), then finished my normal loop.

The last half-mile or so, I was really kicking hard -- probably under an 8:00 pace. Final verdict: 4.67 miles, 8:50 pace. Can’t keep that up for 26.1, but by the end, I felt a lot better about things.

Also, I’ve decided that instead of the Atlantic City half, I’m probably going to do a half in Seaside Heights on 10/20. Instead of an overnight -- which would include dinner and a hotel room -- I can just drive down in the morning, do the run and go home. It’ll be good to get a race under my belt so I’m not such a newb come April. It’ll also be good to see how far I’ve gotten with my training by that point.

Tomorrow is likely a strength-training day. Then I think a rest day, and then a pace run on Thursday -- maybe try to go six miles. My long is probably going to be Friday.

Saturday, September 7th: Long run to Dave's house

Since there was a Rutgers football game on Saturday and Jackie and I were planning to head to the beach on Sunday, I figured my best chance for a long this week was to incorporate it into my Saturday plans. I ran my normal Cliffwood Beach 5K route, then headed west to my friend Dave's house -- which GoogleMaps said was another five miles.

A lot of that run was straight and dull on Cliffwood Avenue. But at about the six-mile mark, I made a left onto Disbrow, which crosses NJ 34 and then turns into a scenic country road. But...in the last mile, there's a HUGE hill. I knew about it, I was planning for it, and frankly, I was dreading it. I turned the corner and got my first view, and wow, it really is big. But you know what you do? You just keep on pushing. And let me tell you, once I got to the top, it was great. I nice easy downhill to 516, and then a quick jaunt into Dave's neighborhood.

I did an extra block out and back to be sure I hit my eight miles, and as I was nearing the end, I found myself regretting that I hadn't built in some more distance. I had plenty in the tank. I think next weekend, I'll push for double digits.

A quick shower at Dave's, then changed in Rutgers gear and headed up to Piscataway for a fun day of tailgating with something resembling a football game thrown in.

A Quick Introduction

I'm going to run the New Jersey Marathon on April 27th, 2014, and I've decided that blogging about my training will keep me motivated (by keeping me accountable). I'll pretty this thing up when I have some time, but for now, here's my short story:

Over the 2012 holidays, I came to realize that I was fat. Really fat. Gross fat. I wasn't taking care of myself, and I was taking my wife for granted. I deserved better and she deserved better. It took me until the middle of February 2013 to get my butt in gear. I started by trying to fix my diet. A month later, a friend gave me an old treadmill -- and boy, was that a revelation. I couldn't run more than a couple minutes without dying.

As the weather got warmer, I began to get out there and run. I also joined a gym. I ran my first 5k in June (though I'd done a few by myself). And then this summer, an odd thing happened: I started running farther. I got myself to five miles a couple times, and I began to feel pretty good about myself.

About a month ago, my brother-in-law was in town, so he and my other brother-in-law got together for drinks. And -- perhaps under the influence -- the three of us committed to the marathon. So now it's time to get serious. I've gone as far as 9.3 miles in less than an hour and a half.

Tomorrow I have an eight-miler planned, on a route I've never taken before. I'll let everyone (anyone?) know how it goes.