Looking Into the LSD

LSD. No, not that, or even "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". I'm talking about the long slow distance run, like the one I did today. I've always wondered why marathon training programs typically top out at 32 km, so I looked into it. Here's what I found out.

Why 32 km?
The training program I've referenced for all of my marathons comes from the Running Room and, like many other programs, the longest distance to run in training is 32 km (20 mi). But why this distance, specifically, and not something closer to actual marathon distance of 42.2 km? According to the interwebs (Matz, 2014; Runner's World, 2014), the general theory is: anything longer can increase the risk of injury. Recovery also takes longer with any runs over 32 km. 

Hanson’s marathon training method (Humphrey, 2011) also outlines that running for more than three hours means diminishing returns for runners, doing more harm than good by damaging muscles, compromising recovery time, and depleting glycogen stores significantly (Matz, 2014).

At least I'm consistent.

Best to ignore that though, right?
The above, however, I believe does not apply to me. According to a trainer I worked with when I first ran with Diabetes Canada in 2009, the long run pace for those looking "to complete" i.e. no specific finish time goals should be "between 8:30 to 9:30 minutes per kilometer...if you are going faster you stressing [sic] your body to the point that it can not [sic] recover by the next quality workout" (email from Team Diabetes Trainer, 2009). Doing the math, this works out to what is my typical finish time for these long runs which is around four and a half hours.

So... I dunno
In summary, looking at all the information as a whole: I dunno what the right answer is. What I do know is that, until I got the above information from a trainer, I had been running too fast (for me) on my long runs and was well on my way to injury and burnout. Her advice saved me in training for my first marathon, and I successfully finished that marathon without getting hurt. And - looking at my data over the years and having finished three more marathons since then, I'd say that advice has served me well over the years.

If anyone else is slower, I sure haven't seen them
Logically, I know there are slower runners than me out there; finisher information from all of my races has told me that. But where they are? I sure as hell don't know. I don't pass anyone when I'm out there; I am definitely the one getting passed. Sometimes this bothers me, but then I remind myself of the distance I'm running and I usually get over it. 

...but then, what if they're running the same distance, only a lot faster than me? In those instances, I'm gonna guess that advice like Hanson's is for them. 

In conclusion...
With six more weeks of training to go, I'm gonna stick with what I know works. That means, slow long runs, soaking my legs in cold water, foam rolling, rest and shorter runs throughout the week. This way, I know that I can recover adequately from week to week. No pushing past what is realistic for me. No comparing myself to others and what I'm reading on the internet (even though that can be really hard to do). And - if I could - I would run this marathon tomorrow, mainly because I'm sick of training. But since that's not possible, all I can do is stay vigilant, and hope for nice weather and strong runs based on my current fitness level. 

Journal entry for today
Today's run: 32 km. Weather: started out damp, but turned out to be partly sunny (thank you, Mother Nature!). Feeling: good. Confident. Which is freaking me out, a little. Not sure if I should embrace it, or wait for the other shoe to drop. Gonna try to let it go.

No rain looks good on you, Vancouver.

Sources
Humphrey, L. (2011). Hanson’s Marathon Method: The 16 Miler. Hansons Running.
Matz, J. (2014). How long should your longest run of marathon training be? WalkJogRun.
Runner's World (2014). Forums Topic: Marathon training plans stopping at 32K.

Don't Think About It

Okay guys, I'm kind of freaking out a little. My long run this weekend is scheduled at 29 km. Like, 29 freaking km. 

Normally, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to make sure I get my long runs in - for example, prep my gear the night before, make sure my Garmin is charged up and ready to go, check the weather forecast for no mental surprises. My favourite and surefire tactic is to leave first thing in the morning before thinking about it too much. By the time my brain has caught up, I'm usually 20 or 30 minutes into the run which generally means: no turning back now.

Sensible messages ought to be repeated. 

However, the problem with not having run these really long distances in so long is that I really don't know if I can do them anymore. Sure, I've been doing a fairly good job at sticking to the training schedule and yes, I've already done 26 km... so what's 3 km more on top of that, right? 

Right??  

I'm nervous and scared, that's for sure. But I'm excited, too - excited to see if I can do it, excited to try, excited to prove to myself that I can. 

But, yeah. Mostly, I'm just trying to not think about it too much lest I freak the fuck out and end up immobile.

Here's to my first 29 km long run in three years! Wish me luck. I may need it.

Learning From Doing: Part 2

Hey running friends! It's February 26 and, coincidentally, today's long run was 26 km. One word to sum it up: ouch. But I had a few thoughts to keep me going which I figured I'd share with y'all here.

Garbage in, garbage out
Today's run was pretty sluggish overall, which came as a surprise since last weekend's 23 km long run felt generally okay. The only thing I could chalk it up to was having a friend in town last week, which meant eating a little worse and drinking a little more than usual over a seven day average. I'm not saying my eating habits are great anyway (this body ain't no temple, that is for certain), but after slogging through the first 16 km, and then bonking hard between 17 and 19 km this morning, I figured my poor nutritional habits from the last few days probably played at least a small part. 

Run the tangents

My GPS map from the Royal Victoria Marathon in 2009:
the longest distance I have ever run in my life. Ever.

I ran my first marathon in 2009. A marathon distance is, of course, 42.2 km. My actual distance covered in that race, based on my Garmin GPS data: 42.7 km. That's right - a whole half a km more than necessary. Ever since then, I've learned to run the tangents: the shortest distance or line in the curves/corners. Around every bend and every curve, I reevaluate and change things up to make sure I'm running the shortest distance possible for that route because - let's face it - these long runs are ass kickers and I don't want to be running any longer than absolutely necessary.

Love those hills
Okay, so maybe "love" is a strong word. But I'm a firm believer that every hill, while daunting, is a moment of fantastic opportunity - to set a new goal e.g. to jog or run the entire hill without stopping, to refocus one's position in a race e.g. to try and pass someone up ahead, or to decide what you're made of e.g. to walk or run. Next time you find yourself looking upwards at another bridge or incline, instead of thinking, "Oh holy jeebus", try thinking, "I'm gonna own you." It's an attitude adjustment, for sure, but you might just surprise yourself in how you approach that hill. If nothing else, remember: for every up, there's a down. So, there's that to look forward to. Right? Ahh, the yin and yang of running.

Today's run: 26 km long run. Weather: started out around 2°C and overcast, but warmed up to about 6°C with scattered sunshine by the time I was done (yup, I'm pretty slow). Feeling: tired but good. Looking forward to the distance backing off next week... "only" 19 km scheduled for the long run, yippee!

Feels Like The First Time (Marathoning)

This is the 100th post on Five by 35! Thanks to everyone for reading the blog and supporting me and my running. You're the best. And hey - if you haven't yet given to my Team Diabetes fundraiser in memory of my dad, maybe now is a good time (just saying!). 

Some of you may be wondering what it actually takes to train for a marathon. In all honesty, given that I haven't run one in nearly three years, I'm kind of wondering that myself.

Don't get me wrong. Logically, I know what I need to be doing. To sum it up, see below. 

But mentally? That's another question. 

Training for number five feels like training for the first marathon, all over again. According to the schedule, I ran 13 km this morning; I haven't run that distance since January 2015 (yes, I checked - thank you, Garmin Connect stats). 

Over the next 16 weeks, the long distances are going to slowly creep up, from 13 km to 16, 19, 23, 26, 29 and finally, 32 km. And with each increase in distance, I'll have to answer this question for myself: can I do it? The only way to find out is to put my shoes on, force myself out there and take it one step at a time.

It's terrifying. But hopefully, it will all be worth it.

Today's run: 13.5 km. Weather: 0°C and overcast. Feeling: a little frustrated at first, as I inadvertently forgot to turn my heart rate monitor on and so freaked out a little because I really wanted to track how things were going. But I decided to stop, turn it on, and then kept going. 

P.S. A special shout-out to my friends and fellow runners, Chelsea W. and Christina S., who ran the Star Wars Half Marathon - The Light Side at the Disneyland Resort today. Great job, ladies! Very proud of you both.

Long Distance Do-Over

I've got 29 km on the schedule for tomorrow and, thanks to my Garmin stats, I can see that the last time I tried to do 29 km, I added a big ol' DNF to the description.

What does DNF stand for? DID NOT FINISH.

I'm not sure why I included this inspiring detail in my running records... sorry, scratch that. I know exactly why I did this. The main reason was because I wanted my record-keeping to be thorough and accurate; that run is when I got hurt last spring.

Tomorrow will be the first time since then that I'm attempting this distance as a training run. Am I a little freaked out about having to run this distance tomorrow, as a result? Yup. Sometimes a little knowledge (even in the form of my own workout data) can be a dangerous thing. 

But plenty has happened since then. I recovered from my injury and went on to successfully complete another marathon! So my plan is to run that same route tomorrow, that 29 km distance - and finish it. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Today's run: 6 km. Weather: overcast and cooler than it has been recently. Feeling: fine, other than the anxiety thinking about tomorrow's long run.

Tomorrow's run: update to come.

Long Run Sunday Quickie

Happy long run Sunday! It's been a fun weekend, but a few late nights combined with running in the heat has left me absolutely spent. I'm gonna sleep well tonight! Anyone else run today?

Today's run: 23 km. Weather: warm and sunny. Feeling: slightly sluggish and a little slower than usual, but pretty pumped at running a distance I haven't run since August 2012 (thank you, Garmin, for keeping track of that for me).

In honour of Bruno Mars' amazing performance in Vancouver last night, here's a little Locked Out of Heaven for all y'all. Hope you had a great weekend! 

Stats Rule!

Here's a quick mid-week update simply to say ... I love my Garmin.  

I logged into my account today to find this new resource: a snapshot of my personal best times, based on all of my inputs over the last three years. Amazeballs.

Sometimes It's Good To Not Keep Score

I started out on a 6 km run yesterday when all of a sudden ... my Garmin died.

At first I cursed myself (why didn't you make sure your watched was charged up? Geez!) but then came to the realization that it really wasn't the end of the world (chill out, girl - it's no big deal!). 

So often I have become reliant on doing what my Garmin tells me to do. Before I was injured, on long runs I would be timing myself to walk every 10 minutes; now that I'm still in recovery, I've been timing myself to walk every four minutes. I adjust my pace based on what my heart rate is doing. Each kilometer my watch is programmed to beep and indicate how long it took me to run that kilometer. It can get a bit much.

But not yesterday!

When my watch blinked off, it was a great opportunity to just run. There was no need to track my heart rate, or monitor my pace, or obligation to stop every four minutes for a walk break; I was slave to my data no more! I took it easy, sure, but it was a chance to truly listen to what my body wanted to do. If I felt like walking, I walked. If I wanted to run, I kept going. If it felt like I was speeding up, I slowed down. 

It can get so analytical, tracking so much of my running information and using those results to be prescriptive in my training. Yesterday's blip felt a bit unnatural at first, but in the end, I'm glad it happened. It was unexpected but I think, just what I needed. 

"You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometime,

you just might find you get what you need." Makes sense to me. 

Non-Resolution Run. And Swim.

I don't make New Year's resolutions - not because I don't believe in goal setting (clearly I do, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this blog) but because I've always been more of a set-your-goals-when-you-need-to-as-you-need-to kinda gal.  

The Running Room has, for 26 years, hosted a Resolution Run. This takes place each year on either December 31st or January 1st in various locations across North America as a way to kick off a new year of running. I've never done the Resolution Run but I think the spirit behind it is admirable even though New Year's resolutions are not my thing.

But since I'm back on the proverbial horse and am currently working to build my base mileage, I went on a 10 km run yesterday ... my first run of 2012! The weather held out and, based on my Garmin stats, I'm already seeing pace improvements after being sedentary for so long. Sweet. 

See?  Getting a bit faster.  I'm sure this won't last.  

I also got my ass handed to me tonight by my new swim instructor. I'm signed up to an Adult Level 3 swim class and have never really worked on my swim endurance so this first class was a bit painful. But it's the only way to improve. Right?

Happy New Year!