Ironman St. George Race Report

Mike Keenan

Ironman races are supposed to be tough,  it’s why I do them.  St. George is known as the toughest US ironman, arguably the most difficult worldwide.  Heat and elevation are a given.  What you hope to avoid are the winds.

SWIM

Saturday morning the winds arrived 5 minutes into the 2.4 miles swim.  The athletes were oblivious as we headed downwind while the spectators and race organizers watched a sea of whitecaps fill Sand Hollow reservoir.  Sustained 20-25 mph winds with gusts to 40 mph.  Swimmers felt the effects as we made our first 90 degree turn.  Spray blowing off waves made it was a challenge to spot the next buoy.  Breathing to left was not an option and I had to keep aiming 45 degrees left of target as the current attempted to send us to the southern shore.  Rounding the next buoy put the longest section of the swim ahead of us. By now the swell was 3-4′ with a pesky chop in between.  I didn’t know if it was even possible to swim a mile straight into it.  After awhile I found a rhythm of powering through the chop and up the swell with a short/hard stroke followed by a longer, gliding stoke down the backside of the swell.   Sure enough progress was made as long as I didn’t stop.  At one buoy there was a rescue kayaker attempting to stay upright by bear hugging the large floating orange triangle.  He could offer no help to us this morning.  Figured this would be a 1 hour 20 minute swim in these nasty conditions (compared to 1 hour planned).  Couldn’t believe my watch that read 1:06 as I stumbled up the boat ramp and over the timing mat.  Maybe the conditions weren’t as bad as I thought???  They were!  The Race director said he would have definitely cancelled the swim had the winds arrived 10 minutes earlier.

 

BIKE

Having spent some time in St. George I knew heat could be a major factor.  But for me the winds here have always been more of a concern.  The course is exposed and runs through wind charged canyons.  At times it felt like I was riding a sheet of plywood.  Adding to the challenge was a right quad cramp that developed during the awkward swim portion and an upset stomach due to accidentally swallowing large lake waves.  These symptoms stayed with me for the entire 112 bike leg.  60+% of the ride was on the small chain ring.  Climbing speed on a number of hills was 3mph.  Top speed downhill on the hoods (non aero) was 54mph.  My bike time was an hour slower than last year with similar or better conditioning.  Unfortunately my training plan didn’t account for this length of effort on the bike and my energy stores were lower than I would have liked going into the Run.

 

RUN

The run course was definitely easier than last year.  While it was not as hilly, there were also no flat portions.  Every section is a false flat.  Knowing I was behind after the bike I decided to get aggressive early in the run.  Winds were calmer in town and temperature was manageable at 83 degrees.  First few miles I ticked off at around 7:25 pace and thought the day might not be lost.  If the age group leaders rode too hard they might be hurting more than me.  Kept looking at my watch and realized I was slowing down a little bit each mile.  The legs just couldn’t bounce back from the ride.  Picked off 5 competitors from my group by the finish and ended up 10th in age group and 103rd overall.

 

Hall of Fame announcer Mike Reilly said this race was the toughest Ironman of all the 110 races he’s called.  Pro winner Ben Hoffman said it was the most difficult thing he’s done in his life.  More telling, 408 (29%) of the 1432 starters did not finish .  The numbers don’t lie.  6% swim DNF.  19% bike DNF.  4% run DNF.

 

While I missed a Kona slot this year I am not disappointed with my race.  Fighting through those conditions, mentally and physically, will only make me stronger in upcoming challenges.  It made me appreciate even more just how difficult getting to Kona is.  There is an incredible level of athletic talent from around the globe aiming for the same aggressive goal.  I guess that’s what makes it so special and coveted.  For me it’s worth every sacrifice.

Tacoma City Marathon

“A Sea of Yellow”

Phillip Kriss, D.C.

5/6/2012

Why?

Last year Heidi Hubler and I got to be pacers at the TCM Half-marathon. It was our first opportunity to pace. It was a great experience. We earned the trust of several that finished ahead of their goal time. The funnest thing I remember about that race last year was a guy that gave me permission to prod him a bit if he slowed down. At mile 12.5, he was slowing and I gave him a jab with my pace pole and told him to get moving. He thanked me for that as he made his time.

I have been slacking in my racing so far this year for a variety of reasons. Laziness mostly. So, I thought I would once again try something new. That was to let Heidi write the training plan and I would stick to it. She is a stickler for training. She will not quit on a 23 mile run at 22.75, but insist on completing it even if it is a lap around the parking lot.

Also, I think the best part of running a marathon is the ability to run and yak. Oops…maybe that is why I run like a turtle?

So, when the opportunity came up to pace the 3:55 group, I jumped in with both feet

The Training:

The normal routine of long runs, but I added in intervals at the ends of my long runs starting earlier this year. I think that has been beneficial. And I resolved to not quit when I felt like it but stick it out. There was nothing notable except that continuing nagging pain in my Achilles, which I know now, has a large callous growing on it. That is bad…

The Race:

The gun goes off and a trotting we go. Heidi and our new friend Faye Brit were pacers of this group. We all quickly agreed on our strategy and implemented it adjusting the pace for hills and the dreaded last 6 of 9 miles. There were about 10 in our group that resolved to stick with us. 4 were first timers. One of the people in our group commented before Ruston Way on the number of manic shirts he saw. He said the run was a Sea of Yellow. He was right; there were a lot of maniacs out there. Things began to get social along Ruston Way, when I could not contain my mouth anymore. I was shooting my mouth off about others in the race I knew. I was telling the usual stories. I was instructing the first timers on how to take water and/or Gatorade out of a cup and not spill it all over themselves and BOOM! I ran over a garbage can! I knocked the cups all over the road with everybody watching right after I got done shooting my mouth off about how its done. I felt like crawling into that garbage can. My pride usually gets beat up in marathons anyway. That day I just had the opportunity to do that early.

We were exactly on time at the half…up 3 minutes from the steady pace chart. So, we had 3 minutes to burn on the hills, plus most normally slow at the end of a marathon anyway.

Heidi set the pace from 13, through the park till about mile 24. I started hurting some and successfully kept my mouth shut. Faye took the lead the last 3 miles as we adjusted our pace to cross the line on time and let any stragglers keep up. She had a stop watch and used it expertly.

I ran a pretty good race, but my leg/foot blew up at 25 (again) So, I was happy to slow the last mile and jog it in.

Unfortunately we lost 2 of the first timers after mile 20. The good news is 2 of the other first timers kept chugging away, and with 1.5 miles left we told them along with 4 others who stuck with us the whole way to take off and get it done. They finished ahead of 3:55 by 2 or 3 minutes.

What did I learn?

I love pacing. I got the opportunity to share my experiences with those who have no idea what to do.

Running with others makes a race a very fun event!

All marathons hurt regardless of running fast or slow so may as well run them fast and go for it.

The TCM race and course is truly unique. It is all things northwest. It has hills, water, big trees and mountains visible in the distance.

St. George IM Pre Race Report

By Mike Keenan

Everything is quiet here in St. George as is normal for day before Ironman.  Other than checking bike into T1 and dropping off transition bags, it’s a day of R&R and of course, waiting.

What is not quiet is the wind…..Up to 20 mph today.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring calm, if not the bike leg will be LONG.  Expected temperature tomorrow is 85.

There is a noticeable presence of Europeans here this year.  Apparently they feel qualifying for Kona is easier stateside than at home.  We’ll see!   With this being last year for Full distance there’s no reason to save anything for next year

The work is cut out for me.  The talent  level in my age group is quite high this year.  In addition there are fewer slots thanks to the addition of New York Ironman.  They are projecting 4 Kona slots out of 190 in my age group.  I’m embracing the challenge.

Time to eat, nap, and dream about going fast!

Yakima River Canyon Marathon Race Report

Phillip Kriss

3/31/2012

I never win anything!

Why?

The Yakima River Canyon was my first marathon I ran in 2006. I have run it every year since. Generally it has been one of my faster marathons. Somewhere along the line I decided so long as I can run a marathon, I would run this one. It is a celebration of spring. And, many of my buddies that have become my friends run it. And then there are the types like Mel Preedy….so long as he shows up and runs it, I am without excuse not too! I like that canyon. I think it is pretty.

The training

I knew I was going to be doing 2 long runs back to back last December. So, I ratcheded down the running just a bit in January to rest up and let my leg heal as much as possible. I found out that not running on a tendonitis issue does not make them any better, so may as well press forward. Anyway, I/we did a long run a week both on the roads and some in the woods to prep for this run and the Chuckanut 50km 2 weeks ago. Last week I had a dose of speed work doing “The Big Climb”. 69 floors up the Columbia Bank Tower in Seattle in 10:42 and I placed really high both in my age group and in the overall results. Going into the race I had absolutely no expectations of time or how the day would turn out because it was my 3^rd race in 3 weeks, but running well so maybe this would be the big one…the BQ most marathoners lust for….

The Race

Got up on time and grabbed a free syrup soaked waffle for breakfast. I then sorted through my pre-packed race bag. I had to pack my stuff up on Tuesday since I am moving my residence. Someone (I am not naming names) who was helping me move stuff in the garage must have thought that the stuff on the upper shelf must have been “junk” and tossed much of the vital race stuff into some box somewhere. That included body glide, my I-pod, race belt, and most importantly, my trusty flask of Hammer gel, which has propelled me through many long days. So, I filed the thought in the back of my head that “I need to borrow stuff from Heidi for the race”. I remembered that thought right before the race start as Mary Hanna and Cliff Richards were displaying their deep and wide arsenal of gu pinned to their shorts saying “We take one every 5 miles”. My reply to that was “Good thing this race is only 26.2 miles”. I was hoping for my recollection of the Chuckanut 50km where every 6 miles you can stop and dine on real food. I was hoping there would be aid stations on this race that served Grandma’s home-made milk and cookies. Yes….that would get me though the day…

That was not to be the case. There was Powerade at the aid stations for the first 15 miles, but after that just water. I did spot gummy worms at an aid station about half way, but other than that, no food in sight. Paul Grove did slip me a very precious gu that I downed at some time during the race.

The race itself was uneventful except for the chats I had with my buddies, both new and those I knew for a while. I trotted along for the first 15 and decided to pick it up a bit. Unfortunately, as I did that, my pace dropped as my effort increased. Oh well. Everything hurts at this time anyway, so may as well turn on the i-pod I borrowed from Heidi. Her playlist is not at all like my vintage classic rock. Interesting stuff, those young kids screaming and beating on drums. I recognized much of the tunes from the spin classes she teaches. I was particularly amused when “Shuffling” was playing when I was slugging my way up the hill at 22. I am not quite sure how Heidi can run as fast as she does since we mostly run the same distance and speed in training, but she kills me on race day. Now I know it is not the music she plays…I thought maybe that was the key and that would be what it would be to send me over the top into the super fast marathon, but it was not ment to be that day…

I did run pretty fast the last 5 miles and chased down several people that were ahead of me. I was happy I did finish strong.

3:52. Ouch…embarassment again….yet another butt kicking….

After the race Heidi asked how the race went and how I was feeling. I told her about my dropping pace, and I had an excruciating headache, which was not improving. I was very foggy, dizzy and nauseous. Then I was reminded that is what happens when you run that far without fuel. (Duh)

Then the fun stuff happened

After a shower (ouch that hurt…I had large areas of chaffing to the point of blood on the sides of my ribs) we had lunch and a story telling session with fellow KBAers Doug and Michelle Mowbray. Greasy bloody hamburgers washed down with lots of Dr. Pepper never tasted so good. Then, a brief jaunt of wine tasting with Cliff, Mary and others, and off to the awards ceremony.

I knew I was not going to win a prize for my high performance, so I was sitting around feasting on cake frosting while pouting during the first round of door prizes. The MC said “one more name until we move on to the age group awards” and I mumbled loudly while it was quiet “I have been here for 6 years in a row and have not won so much as a peanut”. Next thing, he calls my name! Yippee! That was the best thing that happened all day! I won a prize! I love winning prizes! Especially free ones! (if you call that day free)

 

Lessons Learned

• You can’t win them all. Some people do, most don’t
• The people are what make any event fun.
• I should pay closer attention to my nutrition. I think I fell off the wagon somewhere.
• Don’t forget to pack your crap! They make checklists for a very good reason.
• There are good moments in every “bad” event. Focus on them.
• You never know. You might get lucky and win a free prize!
• Maybe waffles and syrup and not the best pre-race fuel.

What’s next?

Tacoma City Marathon. I/we will be 3:50 pacers. Then the highly anticipated triathlon season will be launched. I will not be doing an ironman this year, but will at least one 70.3, and several other sorter races. Between life being busy and stinky weather I have not been on my bike much and are looking forward to getting outside and riding. I think I just may have to go over to Couer D’Alane in the end of June and sign up for the Ironman in 2013…..

Chuckanut Race Report

Muckanut (Chuckanut) 50km Race Report Phillip Kriss 3/17/2012

Why?

Heidi and I were driving home from some race in January where I probably got my butt kicked again. We had a discussion about several others that signing up for this race. I did not understand why anybody would want to run a race for that distance in the woods when they make  bicycles and motorcycles that make that distance much easier and faster and more fun (in my opinion).

Anyway, she signed up using her phone on the way home, and said stuff like “Eric is running it. Steve is running it. Chris is running it” so, I felt a little social pressure.

My Sister said “monkey see, monkey do” How true is that?

In the back of my mind I was also thinking about many of my running buddies that are running in the woods, like CrazyBob Satko biting off 200 miles. Last year I showed up at my first run in the woods and Pigtails called me an “asphalt sniffer” Many times over the last year while grinding out mile after mile on my bike in an aero position the truth of that followed me around stimulating my curiosity. Also, weeks before I ran my PR marathon, I ran a 50km “race”. Who knows, maybe this will be the key for that ever elusive PR marathon…

I did fear however going that distance on my feet. I did not know if I could do it or not. There is only one way to find out, so I asked her to sign me up since I was too chicken to do it myself.

The Training:

I know this drill. Run a lot. I don’t recall how many 20+ mile training runs I put in. It all becomes a blur after a while. The good news is not much seat time on my bike which is a welcome change because the weather here has been horrible for that this winter. Also, I incorporated Mike Keenan’s run fast strategy of running within my heart rate zone, but when I get tired to back off to let my heart rate drop, then run at my desired pace plus a few seconds per mile until I begin to pop. I have been doing that since January and I do think it is paying off.

The Race:

Get up at 3:30 and drive up with Steve Ellis, Heidi Hubler and Mark Casey.

I was way out of my comfort zone from the beginning. What do you wear? I didn’t want to look as if I didn’t know what I was doing out there.

I was out of my element when I pulled into the parking lot. I had a clean burning lots of gas white full size pick-up truck with Ironman stickers all over it. They had dark colored Subaru’s (what is up with all those Subies?)  I had my heavy deep lugged trail running shoes, and they were part of the minimalist movement. I had my bright multi colored triathlon gear. They were in dark colors. The good news is I grew out the hair on my legs to embrace the natural look. (P.S. Bad move there. Shaved legs hold less mud and chaff less, and the fur did not keep my legs any warmer).

The race for me was nothing but good news! I do love the woods. There are a bunch of new people that have not heard my stories and appeared to be entertained by them.  I ran most the way with Steve and Heidi. They would pass me on the uphills, and I would chase them down and pass them on the down hills. The aid stations have real food to stop and dine at! I was in heaven eating free M&Ms, potatoes, sandwiches, bananas, drinking coke and other stuff. So much better than a teaspoon of water, a shot of gu (if you are lucky) and move on. Most aid stations Heidi and Steve had to pry me out of because I wanted to stay and graze more.

Conditions are what some would call horrible. It was raining at the start, which turned into snow. The gravel trail gave way to mud, then a slurry. The snow laden branches were hanging low right at eye level.

I left my watch in the car on purpose. I had no idea how I was running or whatever. I just wanted to enjoy the day and so I did.

Going up “Chin Scraper”, I was following Heidi and said “We are scaling a very steep hill. My heart rate is going up and the water is running down the trail. The melting snow on the foliage is dripping barely melted snow into the tops of my shoes. We ran 22 miles and have 9 to go. It is cold, raining heavily and we are wearing shorts, but in a very sick way this is kinda fun!”

The Results:

Heidi Steve and I all came in within a few minutes of each other at between 6:20 (Heidi and 6:29 (me). I was very happy with my time because I had finished my first 50Km run and survived!

Mark finished before us and was standing at the finish line shivering when we got there.

I examined the results the next day and I was very pleased with my age group placement. We all were. The field was very competitive and stacked with a bunch of really fast people from pro’s to age groupers. I think you have to be tough just to sign up!

What’s next?

Yakima Canyon River Marathon in 2 weeks. That outta be interesting…

Lessons Learned:

Don’t fear what you don’t know. Figure it out

Anybody good at something sucked at some time.

If fear or embarrassment killed me, I would have been dead long ago. So, give it a go.

I can do it!

It is better to do with others.

To run with others better/faster than you causes you to raise the bar.

What some call miserable others delight in. (I enjoyed sloshing around in puddles and playing in the snow when I was a kid. I still do) Trail runners are tough SOBs

Would I do it again knowing what I know? You bet! Sign up for another one? Not yet!

A word from Cervelo about Crank Arm Length

Crank length  - Damon Rinard, Cervélo Engineer

engineers were asked how come there is a trend to go to shorter crank lengths.  Here is the answer.
For many athletes, the idea that  “longer crank is better” has changed in part because of Dr. Jim Martin’s 2001 study titled “Determinants of maximal cycling power: crank length, pedaling rate and pedal speed” (Eur J Appl Physiol (2001) 84: 413-418). Jim’s study involved 16 bike racers of various heights doing maximal sprint power tests, typically less than four seconds duration. During the study, they repeated the efforts while systematically testing the following crank lengths: 120, 145, 170, 195, and 220mm. Believe it or not, the test results showed no statistical difference in maximum power among the three middle crank lengths (145, 170 and 195mm). The saddle height (measured to the pedal) was maintained throughout and the researchers did not adjust fore-aft saddle position or handlebar height despite changes in pedal-to-knee relationship and handlebar drop with the various crank lengths. For years crank length tests had been inconclusive and the general working knowledge came more from experience and intuition than science. Now athletes can choose the crank length they like without worrying they’re affecting power.

 
What does the Wind Tunnel say?

 

With the leverage-dependency myth debunked to a certain degree, it was the application of these lessons which really drove the value of this study. The figure above graphically shows how the aerodynamic drag area (CdA) changed when four pro athletes tested multiple crank lengths in the wind tunnel. (Keep in mind lower CdA is better.) Rider1′s CdA increased (from 0.271 to 0.277 m2) when he changed from longer to shorter cranks (from 180 to 175mm), but the other three riders’ CdA stayed the same or decreased slightly when changing from longer to shorter cranks. The crank length and CdA data for each athlete is listed in the table below.
Wind Tunnel Run Rider Crank, mm CdA, m2
LSWT 0908   Run 756  Rider1  180     0.271
LSWT 0908   Run 757  Rider1  175     0.277
LSWT 0908   Run 806  Rider2  170     0.270
LSWT 0908   Run 807  Rider2  172.5  0.272
LSWT 0908   Run 805  Rider2  177.5  0.277
LSWT 0908   Run 701  Rider3  175     0.213
LSWT 0908   Run 702  Rider3  170     0.213
LSWT 0908   Run 707  Rider4  170     0.207
LSWT 0908   Run 708  Rider4  165     0.205
Table 1 Crank and CdA data used to generate the Figure above. Only CdA pairs with adjacent run numbers are comparable; other position changes were made in between non-adjacent run numbers which make them non-comparable.

 

As you can see from wind tunnel test data, changing crank length by itself doesn’t always have a predictable effect on aero drag (CdA). But for each of these pros, the change to a shorter crank solved a range of motion issue at the hip that allowed them to comfortably make other changes to reduce their aero drag without decreasing power.

 

What is the application?
With maximum power essentially unaffected by a wide range of reasonable crank lengths, athletes are now free to choose crank length based on other criteria. Convenience (your might already have a serviceable crank on your bike), comfort, pedal clearance (to the ground), toe overlap; all of these are affected by crank length. However, what is now understood is that, especially in an aero riding position, shorter cranks can sometimes alleviate a common fit problem: if the hip angle is too tight at the top of the pedal stroke, the athlete can be uncomfortable, or is unable to produce maximum power at the top of the pedal stroke.

 

Even in athletes with no existing fit problem, some choose shorter cranks in order to further lower the torso by lowering the arm pads. Perhaps this is not a surprise, but the hours of wind tunnel testing we’ve done with various Cervélo-sponsored pro athletes over the years confirms that for nearly all athletes, a lower bar means lower aero drag.

 

Keep in mind that hip angle isn’t the only limiter on lowering the torso. Saddle discomfort, digestion and vision are other common limiters. If an athlete is limited in these ways then shorter cranks won’t help get them any lower.

 

Some athletes keep their long cranks and still perform well. Some try short cranks, aren’t happy with the results and switch back again. Others keep the short cranks and tell us the following:
1. They pedal faster. The effort and foot speed is about the same, but the RPM is higher, typically about the same percentage higher as the change in crank length. For example, the difference between 165 and 175 is about 5%; some athletes find themselves in a gear about 5% easier than before, with a matching cadence about 5% higher. Coincidentally, the difference between a “compact” 50 tooth chain ring and a 53 is close to 5%. Likewise 20 and 21 teeth are about 5% different.
2. They adapted immediately. The leg muscles operate over a slightly shorter range of motion with shorter cranks, so no “new” muscle training is needed. Also the faster cadence doesn’t need to be learned or trained, because the foot speed (and thus the muscle fiber shortening velocity) is the same as before.
3. They feel more similar between aero and road bike positions. The typical idea is to rotate your road position into your aero position, but usually the torso rotates farther than the rest of the body. This closes the hip joint, and shorter cranks on the aero bike can maintain a hip angle more similar to that of their road position.
4. They can run better. Triathletes say the initial part of the run feels better coming from shorter cranks.

 

What does the Race Engineer say?
As Team Garmin-Cervélo’s Race Engineer, I advise athletes to choose whatever crank length they like. Those who are interested may try shorter cranks on the TT bike; in that case I usually recommend a 5mm difference: longer on the road bike than the TT bike. In all cases, regular training on the TT bike is important to promote adaptation to all aspects of the aero position. The main thing is to realize that the choice of crank length doesn’t significantly affect power, so any length is now free to choose for any other reason. This lets the athletes relax about crank length, knowing it’s not as critical as we used to think.

 

Dr. Martin’s results are not widely understood yet, so crank length is still controversial, and many athletes have strong preferences on crank length.

 

Cheers,
Damon Rinard, Cervelo Engineer

Back at it Again

So the holidays are over. So are good and valid reasons to stay up a little later, have a little more fun, eat a little more, take some time off from working and working out and sleep in a little more. Plus, it is good for triathletes especailly to chill from the race stress. After all, it is the middle of the off season. You can’t go hard 52 weeks a year and expect you will do well at all of them. Well, some expect it, but few accomplish it. Good for you if you are one of those.

Hopefully there was some damage control done to the weight gain too. It is not uncommon for athletes to shoot up 3-5 pounds really fast! Too bad it does not come off that fast.

So, now it is January. It is not time to make a New Years Resolution. I read an article New Years Day that said 90% of resolutions get broken after the first week. Poor odds for success I think….

But it is time to start ramping up, even if it is a little bit. Summer will be here before you know it!

Here are a few tips to ease into things…

• Set your alarm clock to go off at the same time every day. Dont’ be a pillow sucker. Better yet…when your brain starts moving around, get up. To stay there longer is training yourself to be lazy.
• Read something motivational/inspirational/fulfilling/. Make some plans. review your goals. Plan your day and week. They say you will be the same in 5 years except for the books you read and the people you meet. So, meet good people and read good books! Avoid surfing the web for the bad news of the day.
• Fix your case of “Hand to Mouth” disease. Ok, so over the past few weeks you stuffed some extra fudge in there washed down by a venti peppermint latte. Good you enjoyed that, but now make slow simple choices like tea instead. If you eat one bite less per meal, you would never miss that last bite. Over time you can reduce your calorie intake to a reasonable level and not even notice the difference.
• See the poor neglected over weight dog sitting there by the door nosing it’s leash? Somebody has been sneeking it too many christmas cookies also. Take it out for an extra walk. Better yet, how about a jog? You will both feel better.

Maybe most importantly, don’t give in to discouragement. Sometimes you just gotta keep doing the right things because they are the right things to do.

Phillip Kriss

Running fast with low heart rate

Most any runner or triathlete has strong opinions on how to train and race. Some are “Full speed ahead” people that train and race at full tilt. Sometimes they make it to the end, and sometimes they don’t. Their statements usually “no guts, no glory”, “Better than to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all”, or “What fun is the glory of victory without a few agonizing defeats?”

Some are low heart rate people and they say “You can train fast or race fast. Take your pick” “If you run fast like that all the time your gonna hurt yourself” I think to train smarter is better. And who wants to hurt themselves anyway? Here are some points to consider according to some great coaches and pros..

• Training at a low heart rate builds muscular and cardiac strength without over-straining. Early in the season or between races is base training. It can take months to build the base. Cartaliges can take months or years to build but only weeks to build skeletal muscle. Not to mention that thing in your chest called your heart deserves some TLC.

• Training at a low heart rate conditions your body to burn fats rather than carbs. Running fast may help your fitness level, but not your body’s ability to burn fats. Burning fats is important for 2 reasons. 1, weight loss if that is an issue for you, and 2, a pound of carbs will fuel you for an hour, maybe 3. But, a pound of fat will fuel you for 10 hours. There is a lot of calories in fat.

But what about going fast? To some, you just gotta be fast, right? How do you do that running slow all the time?

When I adopted low heart rate training, for some goofy reason I don’t fully understand, my times in all distances from 5k to marathon dropped. Hmm. A 5k, 10k or half marathon every 3 weeks or so is plenty of speed work in my opinion.

But here are a few recommendations to help build speed

Run intervals: Pick a short distance and run just over your desired race pace until your heart rate hit’s it max (220-your age x.8) and then walk or jog until your heart rate hits it’s minimum (220-your age x.65). Do that drill once a week until your heart rate goes up to it’s max quickly and comes down slowly.

Run fast down hill: Remember the steady heart rate? It must be maintained going up hills (even if it means walking) but also downhills. That can pose more of a challenge than you may think.

The bummer about heart rate training is it takes a lot of discipline; more than most people can stand. It can mean months of walking up hills. It can mean letting your buddies go while you chug along at a pace 1-2 minutes slower than it was. And it makes no common sense! But in 3-6 months your pace will be restored and your race times will be faster!

The Wednesday Run

In the early 90s I used to ride my bike 25 miles over my lunch break (what other logical thing would there be to do with a 2 hour lunch?) from Maple Valley to Palmer and back. Most days it would be a full blown time trial. If I got it done in about 61 or 62 minutes I was happy.

After a few years of that I got sorta bored with it and noticed an old guy running down the road again. I knew this guy from my office. I made the “mistake” of saying “You look like you are running about as fast as I can” Turns out that guy was Mel Preedy. He was near 60 at the time and was pushing for a 3 hour marathon. At that time in my life I don’t think I met anybody that ran a marathon. He sez “That sounds like a challenge Sonny..Go get your running shoes and be here Wednesday at 12:30”. So, I did. As I recall it we ran 5 miles in 50 minutes.

To him it was a casual jog. To me I thought it was an exercise in exhaling burning lung tissue. I said to myself something like “Self, you are in obvious need of further conditioning. You better come back next week..same time same place” Or was that Mel talking? Maybe I was delirious. But, I did show up the next week and the Wednesday run was born.

It was just the 2 of us until about 1995 when I met Cliff Richards, a new Physical Therapist in town. I visited his office and found out he was a runner. He showed up and there were 3. First day he ran I accidentally blew a huge snot rocket on his leg. How rude can you get? Amazing he came back. Over the years there have been many great runners that have joined us on the Wednesday Run. Locals are Mary Hanna, Dean Kayler, Steve Isreal, Sean Celli, Cody Hill, Bob Satko, Tony Myrie, Kent Sizer, and Dick Decker. Most of them were instrumental with motivating me or talking me into that first big step…the 26.2…. Over the years the runners there have overcome many obstacles. There have been runners there in casts, stitches, splints and Band-aids. We have been sore from running races and should not be running because there is another race coming up this weekend. So far as I know, at least one has shown up and ran every Wednesday since 1993 without fail.

Wanna go? 12:30PM Wednesdays. Summit-Landsburg and Kent-Kangley road. Don’t be late!

Kent Christmas Rush 10k Race Report

It’s a Community

12/10/2011

By Phillip Kriss

 

Why?

It has been since last spring I wrote a race report until last week’s Rock N Roll marathon report, which provoked a lot of comments and emails. Many of them were that I should write more. And for me the running is not that much fun, but the story telling is.

 

And, I know I need to increase my speed. Just running and training is not enough. Racing makes me did just a little deeper when I am going up against the clock and others on the course. Therefore, the more I race the better I get.

 

And Heidi made me sign up. Since she runs really fast, if I want a fast time all I need to do is do what she does and then stay on her wheel as best I could and I would be assured an age group win. She also twisted Karen’s arm into running. So, off we go to the races again.

 

The Training

 

I ran the Rock n Roll Las Vegas marathon last week, shuffled through a short run on Tuesday, did my usual Wednesday run with my buddies, and ran a short brick on Thursday. Good enough.

 

The Race

 

Fun Stuff! From the moment I got there I was slowed by meeting so many of my running buddies. I talked to some of my patients, some from the Cedar River Runners, (Dean Kayler), several other Marathon Maniacs. Raise the Bar triathlon club was well represented, as well as the 3G bicycle club. Not to mention the race was timed by our friends Rory and Deanna of BuDu Racing.

 

Standing at the start line Dean and I were talking about our guestimated race times. He asked “You ran a marathon last week. Are you feeling recovered?” I replied “I can touch my toes, so I guess so. We will find out soon”. The gun goes off and we take off running.

 

The course is flat and fast along the Green River. It is an out and back course. I had my eyes fixed on my new Polar heart rate monitor keeping those first few miles under control as to not go out too fast and pop early. I hate it when that happens…

 

Hit the turn and start heading back. Heart rate right on target and climbing…

 

Half way back I ran into the pack of 5K runners and walkers. I say to myself “Self, this is familiar. I know how to do this”. The last 2 races were crowded like this, so I maneuvered my way through the crowd as best I could. It may have slowed me down some, but no big deal. It is supposed to be a fun run.

 

Final sprint coming into the shoot and there is the clock. “What? Again? I was about 2-4 minutes slower than I expected of myself. If I still lived in the old country (West Allis, Wisconsin) I would say “Acht. Phoey”. Guess being able to touch my toes does not spell full recovery.

 

But still good enough to crack the top 3 in my age.

 

Lessons Learned

 

Local races are great because of the people. That is what makes races races.

I am going to implement the Mike Keenan approach to fast running. Run a lot of intervals with plenty of rest in between.

Do more fun stuff like these races. They are inexpensive, low stress and good for you. And they don’t take up the whole day or weekend to get it done.