This town is going to the dogs

Gingerbread Jog Dog Walk

OK. So, this is getting a little ridiculous. I go out for a workout run and I end up in the middle of a road race or fun walk or both. In today's case, the timelapserunner found himself competing with man's best friends for a piece of the road. Intent on putting in his six miles around the Lakes and City Park this morning, the timelapserunner found himself trading strides with little four-legged racers competing in the Cane's-sponsored Gingerbread 1-mile Family Fun Run and Dog Walk in the City Park area. With most of the mutts tuckered out near the finish, yours truly had little trouble passing them up even though we were more than three miles into our workout at the time. But that encounter was only the half of it.

Perhaps I'd have made a half-decent boy scout

The Path

The timelapserunner thought he had planned it all so well.  After all, it isn't every day you walk out the front door and start a 23-mile run. Therefore, planning was essential. The temperature range for the roughly five hour experience was plotted out, taking into account the time for the start-of-run: 5:30 AM. The start-of-run time was calculated to put the timelapserunner at the never-before-seen-or-run path through the woodlands - the path that would provide the key link between his neighborhood and the LSU Lakes and City Park loop. We wouldn't want to enter that stretch when it was still dark. All was going so well until we realized that there was ANOTHER wooded stretch to be navigated even BEFORE the path. Several miles into the run, only a short stretch from having to enter that darkened wooded stretch, this realization dawned on the timelapserunner. What would he do now?

Do you believe in magic?

The Mississippi River Levee
Near LSU

Can you believe that there are only a scant 49 days left on the calendar until Louisiana Marathon Day? I remember when that number exceeded 200. My how time flies - even if the timelapserunner doesn't quite qualify as flying down the road. I must admit that in some ways this training has seemed like a very long road, one that stretches forever into the distance - much like the view down the levee path just after dawn this morning. There's nothing but vanishing point in the center of that picture, though I must admit that communing with nature has a lot going for it - even if you're running most of the way.

I went to (a) run and a race broke out

Golden Flyers 5 and 10 Mile Runners

It's been an interesting and slightly different week on the streets, what with Thanksgiving Day and all. Usually the timelapserunner heads to the LSU Lakes area to get in his training but this week found him running the Tuesday and Thursday workouts in the neighborhood rather than near campus. We learned after our 17 mile run some weeks back that the timelapserunner's body and spirit flag during the week after the long run. So, he was on alert for this effect this past week following the 20-miler. Not to be disappointed, Messrs. Mental and Physical Fatigue showed up, right on schedule.

Two digits and the first one is a 2

Another milepost logged
(Courtesy jshyun @ Flickr)

We're not talking sissy runs any more. No more 4-milers called long runs. We're now emphasizing the word long. In the timelapserunner's brief but exciting history of running, no workout has ever measured its distance in two digits, the first of which was a two. Admittedly, long runs in our marathon training schedule are logged at a modest pace, typically 13 minutes plus per mile. Still, any workout that has you on the street for more than four hours without stopping is not a trivial pursuit. At twenty miles, we're starting to talk about things like hitting the wall. I don't know about you, but the phrase hitting the wall does not conjure up exchanging pleasantries or sipping mint juleps in my mind (not that I've ever had a mint julep - come to think of it, I don't think I'd like mint juleps - I don't care for mint ).

Miles and miles

Miracle Mile in Daytime
(Wiki Commons)

There are all sorts of miles. Miracle Miles. Longest Miles. Green Miles. Miles to go before I sleep. And Magic Miles. Clearly, not all of them are 5,280 feet in length. Not all of them can be easily visited. Not all of them are our own cup of tea. Still, the mile continues to hold a special allure in literature, film, song and sport. Even in a world where eventually all of us are doomed to measure distance in kilometers. No matter how prevalent the metric system becomes, there will be those who will forever hold onto the nostalgia that is the mile. Indeed, they will bring it back from the dead, if needs be. The mile will forever continue to be magic. Take yesterday's, for example.

Signs of the times

One of three interesting signposts
on the LSU Lakes route

Sometimes we head out to run with our heads clear and our thoughts focused. Sometimes we're lucky to get out the door with most of our gear. Sometimes we run early in the morning to beat the heat, sometimes later to avoid the cold. Most of us plan our route before we take that first stride. Others of us just take off and go wherever our whims carry us. It's fun to run in a new and different location on occasions - that newness puts a freshness in our step and in our attitude. But it usually helps to know where you are at any point in time. Sometimes signposts help with that; and sometimes they don't.

Walk, Don't Run

Haven't seen one like this, have you?
(Courtesy Rakka @ Flickr)

So, when is a marathon run not a marathon run? I don't mean this as a trick question, though it might sound like one. For more folk than you'd think, taking walk breaks during a marathon run would disqualify that performance from counting as a "true, real" marathon run. Yes, some might answer the question "when is a marathon run not a marathon run" with "anytime you dont' run the whole distance." While this might sound a bit elitist or haughty, in the mind of the timelapserunner this is true, too. Yes, guilty as charged. I entertain this thought every few weeks as I continue to use the Galloway run/walk/run technique in weekly training and on weekend long runs. Why is this? Why do I think this way?

Don't be Running on Empty

Fill 'er up!
(Courtesy freefotouk @ Flickr)

If you want to keep your conveyance running, you simply have to keep it fueled. Fail to do that and she'll leave you sitting on the side of the road. True for cars. Also true for your body ... especially if you're involved in an endurance event like the marathon. The timelapserunner has been testing out a refueling plan on the last two long runs (i.e., the 13 and 15 milers) but has been looking from time to time for a more quantitative, even scientific approach to refueling during long training runs and on race day as well. He may have found such an approach.

Edge of Seventeen

A very special number
(Courtesy Leo Reynolds @ Flickr)

This is it. We're on the edge of seventeen ... miles, that it. This Saturday or Sunday, depending on the weather. If the long range forecast holds up, it'll be Sunday ... with starting temps in the 40s, rising to the 60s. As close as we've gotten to the kind of weather we're hoping for in January. But seventeen is an odd number, a prime number and - when it comes to running - a large number. We'll be Clif Bar loading before we leave, carrying water and gel packing at the 11, 14 and 17 mile marks. (Like we know what the heck we're doing!) Still, every new long run is a personal record. One more notch. Hopefully, the timelapserunner will be in the zone and "... with the words from a poet ... and the voice from a choir ... and a melody... nothing else (will have) mattered."

Raggedy Andy the Runner

Sometimes I feel like Raggedy Andy
(Courtesy goingslo @ Flickr)

I don't know. Sometimes I just feel a little discombobulated. Just one step behind. A little sluggish. Like taking a day off from work - but I know I can't. Sometimes this affects the workout schedule. Like on Monday this week. Supposed to walk three miles. Felt tired and stayed in bed. Skipped the walk. Then on Tuesday, the weather was to be nice and cool. This would mean that we'd be going about as fast as we're allowed to go: 9:02 per mile during the running part, with an overall pace of 10:11 per mile. But we got off to a raggedy start, so-to-speak.

Persevering Patience

More than just warmth?
(Courtesy oddnation.net)

The timelapserunner's sister ran across a neat insight recently and, as one of the handful of readers of this blog, passed it along. It seems that Timothy Gallagher in his work The Discernment of Spirits, speaks of persevering patience in the Ignatian sense: "a virtue of those undergoing trial, who do not flee it but carry the burden faithfully." Gallagher compares this to a marathon runner who "feels the fatigue of many miles already run but does not cease running until the race is fully complete." In my more reflective moments I fully appreciate that the persevering patience I exhibit while running long runs would probably fall short if taxed by the greater trials of life that I see so many others having to work through. Still, I will count it as practice not only for the upcoming race but for the rest of my life, hoping that I will remember the courage and peace afforded by this experience when called upon to exercise it amidst a more consequential trial. That said, yesterday I survived my first fifteen mile workout. Woot!

The Dichotomy Paradox and Marathon Training

The great philosopher Zeno
(Courtesy Stifts- och landsbiblioteket
i Skara's photostream @ Flickr)

There's something about the ancient Greeks - their culture, their language, and their brilliance - that I've always been enthralled with. Well, at least since those days when I took two years of classical Greek in high school. Remarkably, I still remember a few phrases in Greek from Homer's Odyssey, with all it's great imagery (e.g., ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς, which translates to rosy-fingered dawn). Still, my knowledge of Greek philosophy can be written in large print on the face of a small postage stamp. Many of us have heard the names but most of us - including me - haven't read their books. There are those we all know (e.g., Aristotle and Plato) and those we don't know much about. One of those lesser known philosophers was Zeno of Elea. Zeno was famous for his several paradoxes, one of which is known as the Dichotomy Paradox.

Does seven days make one weak?

Is this what I look like in that mode?
(Courtesy tamra hays @ Flickr)

As the timelapserunner looks ahead to next week, he can't help but focus on those activities that will most occupy his time (besides sleeping, that is). Those would be grading papers and working out. Perhaps he's looking through glass-half-empty spectacles, thinking only of what would appear to be drudgery to many. I suppose it's true that many a teacher has gazed upon a large stack of papers (on the desk or in the cloud) and dreaded getting started on the marking process. It's also true that most non-runners would look forward to a fifteen mile run like they would a visit to the dentist - a three plus hour visit to the dentist! Somehow, the timelapserunner will find enjoyment in both those activities this week. At least that's the plan.

Can you teach an old car new tricks?

I know. You must think that that fool timelapserunner is getting so confused he can't even get his cliches straight. You might be right, but the mixed metaphor in this post's title is deliberate not accidental. I mean to cover two slightly different but connected topics in this post: a) how is an aging runner like a old car, and b) can an aging runner learn to do new things or at least old things in a new way? Why so reflective, you ask? Well, as you start to age you begin thinking about your activities a bit more, either before or after you do them. Heck, sometimes just trying to remember why you're headed down the hall can invoke a great deal of cerebral activity.

Not just half a race ...

13.1 Bling
(Courtesy leduardo @ Flickr)

With dozens of posts here hailing the glory and significance of the marathon race distance over these past few months, the timelapserunner has never once waxed eloquent about that step-sister distance: the half-marathon. The Half, as I'll call it for this post's purposes, just hasn't had the glamour attached to it that other races have. It's not the mile, with all its nostalgic lore. It's not the 5K or the 10K which are both very popular road races and also distances which even track and field claims as part of its purview. And of course it's not the marathon, as race that people die for, or from - as the case may be. No, it's just some orphaned middling distance that the road racers sneer at and the marathoners make fun of. No longer, it would seem. The Half is getting respect.

The week that was ...

The days are filled with much to do lately, and the timelapserunner is not keeping up with obligations. This situation presents its own kind of stress, different from that presented by a hard workout, but still taxing. What to do in such situations? Well, it's certainly tempting to skip a day's workout, get some more sleep, and then think that the stress load has been reduced. The best advice, however, runs counter to that thought as exercise itself is a great stress reliever. If you're going to cut something out of a hectic schedule let it not be your daily workout.

Both the highs and lows are good ...

Mile 11
Courtesy No Antics @ Flickr

How long a run feels is pretty much a relative thing. Some days a simple 4-miler can feel like a never-ending slog session. Other days in mid-run you feel like you could run forever. Of course, that particular feeling is fleeting. Our bodies will eventually bring such flights of fantasy back down to earth soon enough. Still, there's an exhilaration that comes with experiencing each sensation, pleasant or not, both the endorphin-laden euphoria and the lactic-acid-induced suffering. Each stretch running effort brings with it new surprises, new experiences; some worth reliving, others we don't care to remember. So it is was yesterday's long run.

Coinkydinks

Coinkydink? I think not.
(Courtesy qthful @ Flickr)

Interesting is the notion of coincidences: those events that occur close to each other in time or space and somehow appear related, but are likely not related at all. We see them all the time in our lives, or at least we think we do. We'll look at some clock several times in a week and - coincidentally - it's always 10 minutes after 10. You suddenly think about calling your grandmother to say hello and the phone rings and it's grandmother on the other end. Some of these are simply the less likely co-occurrence of random events. Others, well, maybe or maybe not. Some are just amusing - as in the strip mall photo here. Others, provoke thought or reflection rather than laughter. A recent personal example is next.

Love those cool snaps ...

A cooler spell outside
(Courtesy exfordy @ Flickr)

Some say there are five seasons in Louisiana: spring, summer, fall, winter and hurricane season. Perhaps that's true. We've certainly had our share of hurricane seasons in the past seven years. Not that many storms, but enough direct hits to make southern Louisiana look like a worn out target at a firing range. There are some years when I'm rather convinced that we have only two seasons: the hot-and-humid season and the damp-and-dreary season. But then again, that's the glass-half-empty mentality kicking in. In any case, the transitions between those hot-and-humid and damp-and-dreary seasons can be quite nice. Like when a little cold front slides through and drops the temperatures down a bit. Like the one that rolled on in this past weekend.

"I could be coming down with something ..."

Covering the spread ...
(Courtesy clintjcl @ Flickr)

One of the hazards of the trade in the teaching business is coming down with something that the students traipsed in with, usually some rhino-virus or something similar. Actually, I'm immune to a zillion of those, having caught just about every cold possible when I was a kid. Unfortunately, there are probably TWO zillion such viruses running loose in the wild so there's still a good chance that I'll catch hold of one from time to time. I keep instant hand sanitizer with me at all times, but there's just too many exposure points to be using that every time you touch something that may have been touched recently by a sicky. My best defense has always been to stay as healthy as possible to keep my immune system resilient. Still, that don't always cut it. And getting sick in the middle of an important training program is a bummer. Well, too late. It's happened. I have a cold.

The one that got away ...

It was thisssss big!
(Courtesy Moggy443 @ Flickr)

I remember - at least I think so - catching my first fish. The place was "the country" - which was what we called any location in the vicinity of my grandmother's home in Raceland. I was standing on the bank of a little bayou of sorts and my hook managed to snag a garfish. Now this is not the kind of fish that most people eat but this adventure was not that kind of fishing trip. This was my first fishing experience and that garfish was huge, a mile long, I'm sure. I can't quite remember whether we took it home with us or released it back into the bayou. Doesn't matter. I can still see that big ole fish a-floppin' and a-splashin' near the bank as we pulled it in. One big catch for one little kid.

Long Train Runnin'

Got to get used to long (train) running
(Courtesy SP8254 - On a Break! @ Flickr)

Great tune by the Doobie Brothers. Played it numerous times during the timelapserunner's old band days. Never listened to the lyrics much. Heck, I don't know lyrics to any tune 'cept maybe the National Anthem. In those days, our harp man was playing guitar on that piece, so the timelapserunner played the signature solo on his keyboard. Not up to Tom Johnston specs, for sure; but still a lot of fun to play. But this weekend's long run made me remember that I "gotta keep on pushin'."

"There's got to be a morning after ..."

Granddaddy Pine - Intact

Hurricane Isaac has come, and now nearly gone. We're still having some trailing bands of the storm marching through during the remainder of today, but hopefully the worst is over. The timelapserunner is simply astounded by the enduring presence of Big PawPaw's pine trees, especially Granddaddy Pine (see photo).

Thank you, Big PawPaw, for your intercession during this windy storm. Your trees are - for the most part - intact and we are safe. We are blessed.

Truly. But some sacrifices were made in the process, it would seem. Not every tree stands after this damaging storm rode through.

As Isaac was spared, may we be spared ...

Big PawPaw's Pine Trees
Monday Morning

Somehow, running and thoughts of next January's marathon are taking backseat to nature's interloper: Hurricane Isaac. Let me be the first to admit something. Storms like this seemed like a lot of fun and great excitement when I was seven, or ten, or twelve. But at my age, all that has changed. I want to admit that I am profoundly intimidated by a threatening hurricane, this one in particular. I've tried to ingest the words of Blessed Padre Pio - Pray, Hope, Don't Worry. But I only get partially through the first of those three before I start worrying again.

Let me express my most pointed fear directly: that Isaac will uproot the huge pine tree in the timelapserunner's back yard and send it crashing into our house. There. I've said it. But I don't feel much better.

Twice as large as it needs to be ...

Glass and liquid quandary
(Courtesy kalyan02 @ Flickr)

The argument has been raging for centuries now: is the glass half full or half empty? Those with a positive outlook on life, see positive prospects and are sure the glass is half full. Those with a more cynical view counter with a conservative half-empty assertion. If all we're fussing over is a few ounces of water, just pour more into the glass already. But, of course, the quandary is more a philosophical or world view exposé than a puzzle to be solved. How do we view life's experiences? Through a prism that splays the colors of the rainbow or through jaundiced eyes? OK. I don't want to wax too philosophical in this post. I just want to reflect on the timelapserunner's experience this past Thursday morning.

"Say hello to my little friend ..."

My little friend: Mr. Squirrel
(Courtesy RonaldWong @ Flickr)

Scarface may have made that particular quote famous, but it's still apropos for the timelapserunner to echo the phrase. Not too far from the completion of this Tuesday's run, we chanced across one Mr. Squirrel hopping down S. Lakeshore Drive. In his little squirrel mouth were a cluster of two pecans, protective casings still intact. Mr. Squirrel would hop about four steps, then come to a stop, hop another four steps and come to a stop once more. This he did several times until we caught up with him - at which point he seemed a bit perplexed. "What am I to do?," he thought. "What am I to do?" (Spoken in my best squirrel-imitating voice.)

Train the brain to tolerate pain

Today, we provide a mini-review of the other book we've been reading: Brain Training for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald. We've taken an extensive look at the role our brain plays in our activities in the past few months (see here, here, here and here) but this book really puts the pedal to the metal in both theory and application. Fitzgerald realizes that he's out on the proverbial limb with the ideas in his book inasmuch as they appear - at least on the surface - to dispute well-established notions of how to build training plans from running physiology science. However, it's hard to argue with the insights that he shares here, as they resonate with most runners' personal experience of both training and racing. Let's take a little closer look at what Matt has to say and what - if anything - we'll do with it during the next five months.

Chalk Dust is in the Air + Week 7 Schedule

The Campanile Bell Tower
(Courtesy brianmullnl @ Flickr)

I'm not sure how typical a kid I was. I'm sure that I looked forward to summers like every other school child. What's not to like about summer? Playing outside all day till the street lights came on in the early evening, running around shirtless and shoeless. Building play forts; fighting mock wars. Catching bugs, lizards, mosquito hawks. Snagging turtles in the ditch. And, perhaps best of all, snowballs - New Orleans style! Summers between school years were usually a whole lot of fun. But somewhere in late July, I'd start getting bored with all that free time (doh, what was I thinking). I would start itching for school to resume, for the chance to see all my buddies again, and for the opportunity to learn new stuff. Now that I'm on the opposite side of the teacher's desk, things are different - yet somehow still the same. Let me explain.

Breakfast and Long Run Debrief

Reward awaiting long run completion

The timelapserunner thought he offer a bit of a debrief from today's long run and first use of the Amphipod RunLite AirStretch 2+. But first we want to spend a few moments talking about breakfast. I love breakfast. Always have. Grew up learning to love breakfast. I remember those early mornings before school. My brother and I would get up and head to the kitchen where Grandma would be waiting to serve us a warm, filling meal. Oh, those mornings were so great. Between the two of us - my brother and me - we'd eat nearly a whole loaf of bread - either French bread or regular toast bread. Buttered heavily. We'd dip the buttered bread in an extra-large cup of piping hot café au lait. Now that was breakfast!

The 21-Day Commitment Fulfilled

Bent knee hamstring stretch

On Wednesday of this week, we marked without fanfare a mini-celebration: completing the 21-day commitment to the Wharton active-isolated stretching routines. Yes, the timelapserunner stuck to his promise to try this method of stretching for twenty-one straight days, to give it a chance, to see if this technique would alleviate some of the really tight muscle areas generated by months of running with little or no stretching. In today's post we'll discuss what we've discovered as a result of these three weeks of active-isolated stretching.

We're ready for a drought now

Amphipod RunLite AirStretch 2+™ 

The timelapserunner has been obsessing about hydration for weeks now (see here, here, here, and here). Worried about drinking too much and worried about drinking too little during a training run and, of course, come race day. With yesterday's post we pretty much lowered the angst level by understanding that thirst should drive one to drink - water, that is. Still, we have a number of very long runs in the offing according to our training plan and we already know that it's hard to rely on park fountains to be working well enough (or at all) to offer relief. So, what's a thirsty boy to do?

The Truth about Hydration - a la Noakes

The timelapserunner has been reading his copy of Waterlogged which arrived last week. This work is impressive, and not just for the fact that it's 400+ pages. Dr. Tim Noakes' work is clearly the definitive word on what the best research has to say about hydration during intense exercise. And it is also clearly at odds with a lot of advice given to recreational runners over the last forty years or so. It is not entirely coincidental, Noakes points out, that some of the advice to 'hydrate, hydrate, hydrate' started up in earnest about the time that sports drinks were coming onto the market. Noakes points more than just a single finger in that direction, in any case. So, what is the right piece of advice to follow? What should we recreational-but-still-serious runners do regarding in-race hydration?

PSYOPs - Part II: Mantras & Magic Marathon Words

What's your mantra?
(Courtesy zenobia_joy @ Flickr)

If you're doing a task that demands a lot from you, do have thoughts of quitting, giving up? I know the timelapserunner does. He experienced this just recently in trying to prepare for the fall semester's teaching assignment. Much to do, some of it tedious, not much of it falling in the category of 'fun to do.' At one point I dreaded starting this daunting task and feared I'd not complete it on time. But then I talked to myself, in my head, saying little motivational phrases, like "... just get started," and "... this won't be difficult," and "... one down, two to go." I didn't write these little phrases down or have them molded into a wristband. But I know they helped me overcome fear and dread - well, OK, maybe just a bad case of reluctance and procrastination - on the way to accomplishing my goal. Might this same psychological tool work to help us conquer the marathon?

The Route for the Week 6 Long Run

Long run route, if we were in Iceland
(Courtesy rafael rybczynksi @ Flickr)

Well, this week's workout schedule calls for a bump up in the long run mileage to 7 miles. Not a big deal - we've run this far before and we'll be mixing running and walking together anyway. But still, we will be out on the street a bit longer, perhaps as much as an hour and forty-five minutes. We'll have to start getting creative in designing routes for our long run day, especially as the miles creep up into the teens and beyond. As long as the weather remains warm and humid, the timelapserunner will need access to water as well. We've got a solution to this which we'll reveal in another post later this week, but for now let's see what path we've chosen for this 7-miler.

That's How the Big Boys Do It + Week 6 Schedule

Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich
grabs flag on his way to victory
(snapped from NBC TV)

My restless anticipation of the men's marathon had me tossing and turning in bed even before the alarm went off at 4:55 AM. Felt a bit like it might feel come next January, perhaps. Before my eyes could get into focus the race would begin. Olympic officials had denied the request of runners to start the marathon a couple hours earlier to avoid the midday heat, but at least the weather forecast would not include a heavy downpour like the one that occurred during the women's race a week earlier. This one would be contested without that burden, but the course and fellow marathoners would surely generate sufficient hurdles to overcome for anyone pretending to the 2012 Olympic marathon throne, erm ... podium.

PSYOPs - Part I - Trigger Points

We must resort to ... PSYOPs!
(Courtesy jared @ Flickr)

A 26-mile race is a bit different from shorter endeavors, for sure. It's not all out like a sprint. It doesn't have the horrible bear-on-your-back feeling of the second lap of an 800m run. You're not likely to run into acute lactic acid buildup felt in a hard 5K. The distance is unique. For example, did you know that the first half of a marathon is not complete at 13.1 miles? From both the physiological and psychological effort points of view, halfway is more like 18 to 20 miles into the race. I know - that sounds crazy. But that's about where the trouble usually begins based on the experience of many marathoners before us. So, we simply must have some formidable psychological weapons at our disposal to deal with what our left brain will begin to tell us at that point in the race.

The Tactical Art of Surging

Makhloufi's tactical surges pay off
(snap from NBCOlympics)

The 100m race is run all out. You get the best start you can and then run as fast as you can till you're through the finish line. Tactics during the finals of such an event are virtually nonexistent. Sure, during the qualifying heats a runner might decide to make a statement by running hard to show his/her stuff. Or that same runner might simply hold something back and keep the rest of the field ignorant of their full capability. But periodically speeding the pace up as a tactical move (i.e., surging) simply isn't in the cards - the race is too short. The fastest persons wins, not the one with the best tactical maneuvers during the race. In longer races - certainly from the 1500m on up - tactics, like surging, come into play.

Afterburners and other such things

Some runs / walks are leisurely
(Courtesy g23armstrong @ Flickr)

Given the likely pace that the timelapserunner will be going come marathon race day, photographers trying to capture the scene won't need fast film. There will be no blur. No speeding bullet whizzing by. Oh, don't get me wrong, the pace will likely seem fast to the timelapserunner, at least during the running intervals. The walking intervals will likely be viewed as a welcome but dangerous respite; dangerous in that the temptation to ease up could be strong. But wait. Galloway's method comes with an interesting catch: he suggests that after the first 18 miles, walk breaks can be reduced or even eliminated. Did I just hear a bullet whizzing by?

Run / Sleep / Run

So .... on Monday evening the timelapserunner - knowing that he would be rising at 5:30AM on Tuesday morning for his workout - headed off to bed at about 9:30PM. After his early morning run, Mrs. timelapserunner asked if he had gotten enough rest during the night. "Sure," I said, "but I only got my needed eight hours." At which point, I was reminded that I had fallen asleep in the lounge chair far, far earlier than 9:30PM and only barely awoke to stumble down the hall and fall into bed at that time. Embarrassed, the timelapserunner lamely retorted with "Well, you've got to get the sleep you need."

Exercise for the mind, not just the body

All that talk a few posts back (here and here) about how our brain can work against our best efforts to achieve our goal got me thinking: maybe we can teach our brains to work for us instead of against us. Surfing through running books on Amazon, I stumbled across the title on the left by Matt Fitzgerald, running coach and author. Brain Training for Runners is based on the premise that distance runners can improve performance if they provide the brain with the right feedback. Fitzgerald's work brings recent research findings to bear on a number of areas critical to distance running; among them fatigue, pacing, and dealing with injuries. Clearly, these areas, and the others covered in this book, offer great potential for exercising mind over matter. Weighing in at nearly six hundred pages, digesting all that Matt Fitzgerald has to say might take some time, however.

Fastest Men in the World

Faster than a speeding bullet
(Courtesy KevinOQ @ Flickr)

The history of the 100m dash is the history of the world's fastest men. The first man to run a sub-10-second 100m was Jim Hines - 9.95 sec - at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in a non-finals heat ('Bullet' Bob Hayes won the gold medal in the finals in 10.06). The great Carl Lewis set the world record three times during his career, his last at 9.86. But three men in this year's finals heat were the last three to lower that number: Justin Gatlin (United States) had run a 9.77. Asafa Powell (Jamaica) had run 9.74. And Usain Bolt (Jamaica) had successively lowered the world record to 9.72, 9.69 (2008 Beijing Games), and finally 9.58 seconds (Berlin, 2009). But who would win it in these 2012 London Games? The winner would be declared the World's Fastest Man, regardless of who owns the current world record.

The Women's Olympic Marathon and Week 5

Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia hits the tape
(pic from NBC's broadcast)

The ladies sure know how to put on a good show in the marathon. This race portended to be very special with the strongest field ever assembled, with seven women having run sub-2:20. American hopes in this race centered on our strong contingent of Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Davila, and Kara Goucher. However, realistic hopes for a medal from amongst these three had to be set low, with all their PRs (personal records) exceeding 2:25. Still, hope springs eternal, at least at the start of every race. The smart money was always on either the Kenyans or the Ethiopians, with the favorite being Mary Keitany (Kenya), recent winner of the 2012 London Marathon in a time of 2:18:37, and Keitany holds the world record for the half-marathon. So? Who won? (See 1st inset.)

Brain Games - Part 2

Abby Normal's Brain
(Courtesy karmaOWL @ Flickr)

Yesterday we discussed some interesting ideas about how our brain can make goal achievement harder rather than easier. These ideas come from a great little blog piece by Gregory Ciotti. Today we'll finish up with two remaining notions about the games our brain tries to play with us: 1) how our brain just loves to engage us in mindless busywork, and 2) how poorly our brain functions when it tries to act as the great spur-of-the-moment planner. We'll also look at how these two notions interact with our efforts to train for and successfully complete our marathon goal.

Did you know that your brain can be your enemy?

Is all this really going on up there?
(Courtesy TZA @ Flickr)

There's a great article out there all about how our brains get in the way of us achieving our desired goals. Gregory Ciotti has cobbled together some interesting items from the research world to give us a heads-up (pun intended) on our scheming brain, and gives us some ideas on how to cope with it and achieve our goals in spite of ourselves, or at least in spite of our brains. Today and tomorrow we'll review some of Gregory's interesting observations, plus we'll look at how our little brain's dirty tricks apply to our training for a marathon. This should be interesting. (Shhhh! I'm typing very quietly now, so that my brain doesn't wake up and see what we're talking out. I don't want it to find out about our nasty little plan to trick it.)

Ramp that long run up, Baby!

Ramp to nowhere
(Courtesy jczart @ Flickr)

We've been in coast mode for too long, it's starting to seem. That's about to end. This Saturday's long slow run ramps up from the 3 and 4 milers to 5-1/2 miles. OK, that's not REALLY long, I know. But it's the longest run since the middle of June. If the temps stay warm like they've been, we'll be averaging close to 15 minutes per mile. That means we'll be out on the road for 80 minutes or more. We'll notice that. If not from pounding (which we have to avoid), then from simply staying engaged with the process for an extra half-hour. This should be interesting. Let's hope it's not a ramp to nowhere (see inset pic).

Halo, everybody. Halo!

The timelapserunner's
infected drooping eyelid

The timelapserunner still hasn't quite learned that it's best to lay out all one's clothing and equipment the night before the next morning's run. Why? There are two good reasons, listed in my preferred order of importance: 1) rummaging around for that stuff in the dark whilst Mrs. timelapserunner is still trying to catch the last of her beauty sleep is a plan fraught with downside potential and is, of course, inconsiderate of me, and 2) it's quite easy to forget one of the many items (though probably not running shorts) in the haste of getting ready for the morning workout. Turns out that one of the most important items on the list - and the easiest to forget - is a sweatband.

The Ladies Must Have a Secret

Edna Kiplagat winning 2010 NYCM
(Courtesy asterix611 @ Flickr)

Yesterday's post was all gaga (not that lady) about looking forward to watching the Olympic men's marathon on August 12th. Perhaps the timelapserunner's enthusiasm got the better of him, forgetting his manners, forgetting all about the ladies. Elite women athletes will be running an Olympic marathon as well, of course. This was not always so, however. It took a suffragette-like battle to establish the right for women to even run a sanctioned marathon; and it was not until the 1988 Seoul Olympics that women competed for Olympic gold at that distance.

Saving the best for last ...

The timelapserunner enjoyed (parts of) the Olympics Opening ceremony and is looking forward to watching a number of events of interest during this 30th Olympiad, most notably the track and field events which don't really get started till the second week of action. However, as you might have guessed, the most anticipated event of all for this erstwhile runner is the men's marathon, the last scheduled athletic event on the last day of the Olympics. We've already got the calendar marked and a seat reserved in front of the telly (that's UK talk for television) to watch the race. NBC's coverage begins at 5AM (CDT) and we'll be there - God willing - to watch the drama unfold.

Gettin' on the wheel, and Week 4

Cutie goes for a long run on the wheel
(Courtesy bobtravis @ Flickr)

Even though work is grandly dignifying, that doesn't mean that it ceases being work. Since the days of our 'first parents' in the Garden, man and woman have been engaged in fruitful activity, it's just that now we sweat a lot more and get less production from it. Perhaps Adam only had to workout one day a week to train for his first marathon - until after The Fall when running improvement became much harder to come by, encumbered by those fig leaves and dodging wild beasts. Well, the past is the past - for us, accomplishment will come through much toil and sweat and turning of that treadmill wheel in the cage (see little Cutie in the adjacent figure).