Building A Better Bumblebee

Mark B wrote:It seems that I've come down with a cold!

So this comment from Monday? It turned out to be a major understatement. The bug caught me, big time.

     

I got booted out of work yesterday, with a strong suggestion that I also stay home today. With how I've felt, they're not getting any argument from me. Still a little sore from the boulder moving adventure, too, so it's hard to say if I have body aches. No fever to speak of, though, and no sore throat... so that's something, I suppose.

Oh, well. It'll give me more time to rebuild red blood cells. And I checked with the blood bank, and they said I got sick long enough after the donation to allow them to use it safely. Whew.

Starting to feel better, but still not well enough to run (damn, this was one nasty bug), I was puttering around the garage this morning when I happened upon some old-school race results. Younger readers may not remember this, but sometimes race results were mailed to you on a post card, or even sent in an envelope if the event was sufficiently fancy-schmancy.



The results were from the 1990 Butte to Butte 10K in Eugene, the 1990 Bay to Breakers 12K in San Francisco, and the 1992 Cascade Run Off 15K in Portland.

I was in pretty good shape at the time, and younger -- I was 26 for the Butte to Butte and Bay to Breakers, and 28 in the Cascade Run Off (which was the longest distance I raced before I got back into running in my 40s and got sucked into the marathon mythos) -- but I punched those race results into an online calculator that estimates VO2max based on race results and found that my estimated VO2max at that time was pretty close to where it is now.

Here's how they showed up in the races:

Bay to Breakers (12K): 1:10:19, for a VO2max estimate of 33.67 (huge crowds means very slow start)

Butte to Butte (10K) 46:15, for a VO2max estimate of 43.84. I'm pretty sure that's my PR at that distance.

Cascade Run Off (15K): 1:20 "official" time, 1:12 "estimated" time: VO2max of 28.89 to 43.27?! (this is why chip timing rocks); I'm guessing it probably took only 3 minutes to cross the start (it wasn't that big a race), which puts the number at 40.02.

(My best 5K time of 24:02 works out to an estimated VO2 max of 40.14.)

This is really interesting to me, because my lab test showed a VO2max of 40.44. And that was without any sort of anaerobic training in years.

It suggests two things:

1) "They" appear to be fairly correct when they say your VO2max doesn't change much over time, or even with training.
2) That maybe -- maybe -- throwing in some speedier runs would allow me to bump that number up to 43-something.

Why does that matter? Well, it's interesting, but it doesn't really matter that much. Still, my marathon PR of 3:46:53 was run with an estimated VO2max of 40.55. Improving that VO2max by about 3 points would potentially allow a marathon time of 3:35, which in a couple of years would be perfectly adequate for both qualifying and getting into ... well, you know. Anyway, something to think about.

As promised, Mark - 1992 Cascade Run Off.  My Atlanta Track Club Open Team place 3rd in the Team Challenge event after Athletics West and Nike.  It was the first time I ever went to Portland and it remains my 15K PR at 59:55.  I was 30 yrs old and it was my 2nd time running under 60 min for the distance.



What a crazy course - up that hill and then down, down, down......  it was hot that year (for Portland if I remember correctly), but to us, being from Atlanta, it was perfect.  I ran a PR for the 10K about three weeks later

Yes! I remember the course -- and the day -- well. It was unusually warm and muggy for Portland (which must have felt like home to you Hotlantans), and folks got so sweaty I saw my first confirmed case of double-nipple bleeding. Not mine, thankfully.

And the course? Classic sadistic Portland race director. Take off downtown, head up, up, UP a ridge known around here as "Pill Hill" (there's a hospital up there), then hooking around for a miles-long descent to the finish line. As I remember,  I was flying down that section -- or flying as fast I could. Lots of opportunity to make up time from the earlier ascent.

The shirts from that year were cool, too. Mine disintegrated from overwearing years ago, alas.


(Grabbed from Web.)

So we HAVE run a race together! We just didn't know it at the time.

My shirt is in my T-shirt quilt!

Ha! I knew I had a photo of me wearing that shirt. Proof.

^^^ Wow! Look at that tan! No wonder I'm all freckled up now.

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Anyway... I should be out on a long run or trail adventure, but my pulmonary system is still off-line. (#$@&*#* virus!)

It's kind of a weird one. I'll go all day a stuffy/runny nose, then suddenly break into a violent, wheezy coughing fit that has me checking symptoms for whooping cough (nope, not that!). I'll be feeling pretty good, only be to laid out by a wave of fatigue. All of which, alas, are signs that going out for a run/hike/climb would be more of a really bad idea than an example of stalwart dedication and noble commitment.

Good thing I switched next month's race to a 25K. Otherwise, I'd be in a panic.

Hope you all are having a healthier spring.

Low HR Run: 30 minutes (2 miles)

Indoors, 68. Gear: Luna sandals, shorts, T.

The virus my body has been playing host to for the past week is finally taking the hint and moving out. I wanted to see if it had made it out the door yet, so I decided to take a walk on the treadmill and see how it went.

Of course, I started running after 5 minutes.

I aimed for a lower than usual heart rate and kept the speed low. I toyed with the idea of going for an hour, or 45 minutes, but I realized that the smarter thing would be to wrap it up at a half hour. I hate doing the smarter thing. But I did it anyway.

All in all, it feels pretty good. The virus seems to be gone. But just to be sure, I'm changing the locks.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 118

Barefoot Run: 3.1 miles on wet asphalt

Weather: Overcast, a few sprinkles. 55 degrees. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T, jacket until warmed up.

Yesterday's run worked out well, so I went outside for a few barefoot miles in the neighborhood. I tried to steer toward the rougher sections to wake up my feet. and I worked to keep the effort level low. I had mixed results in that. My heart rate crept up with each mile, despite a slowing pace. I'm figuring that was at least partly due to my blood donation in late April, and my being sick for most of last week.

I wrapped it up after three miles, which felt enough for now. I'm eager to get back to it, so I'm not totally overwhelmed by the rugged 25K I'm doing next month, but I know I need to take a measured approach. Not that it's easy; part of me wanted to floor it during the last mile, since my HR was creeping up anyway...

Average HR for entire run: 131

Wow Mark.  I am impressed.  No not by those race times way back when but by the fact that you are organized enough that you could actually find photos from that era...and that you are willing to share them!  Great fun hearing you and Michele reminisce...

Glad you're feeling better.

Hi, Nancy! Thanks for stopping by. It was a pleasant surprise finding the race results. I'd scanned the photo of me in the shirt years ago, and it was still in the computer. Finding out that Michele was there was very cool.

I'm glad this virus is through with me now. It was a pain. Now I need to just ramp it up so I can be relatively ready to scamper around in Beacon Rock State Park in about a month. I'm not imagining much of a taper for this one.

Low HR Run: 60 minutes (4.4 miles)

Weather: Overcast, cool, a breeze. 56 degrees. Gear: Luna sandals, shorts, T, handheld with water.

Trying to get back in the swing of things while not pushing too hard. I went out into the country with options for a 60- or 90-minute run, depending on how I felt and how well my heart rate was behaving. I felt pretty good, but the heart rate was definitely *not* behaving itself. I ended up averaging 134-137 bpm.

I don't know how much of that is due to still restocking red blood cells and how much recovering from being sick last week. Either way, the upshot was that 60 minutes was going to be enough at this point.

One fun tidbit: I happened on a new group of llamas!



They're closer in than Larry and Moe, so I'll be able to get my camelid fix even on shorter runs now. Woot! (No names for them yet. Thinking about naming them all Darryl.)

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 130

Update:

Walked 3.82 miles on Saturday as part of the Hazel Dell Parade of Bands, providing hydration services for the band members, then schlepping back to where we parked. A nice easy walk.

Also.. today:

Low HR Run/Walk: 3 miles

Weather: Sunny, warm. 72 degrees. Gear: Luna sandals (most of the way), shorts, T. Carried nuun in handheld.

I waived my morning run today to make up for sleep lost in a week of night shifts, but went out with Alita for a short run/walk on the Salmon Creek Greenway. She hasn't run since she got sick a few weeks ago, and I'm still trying to recover from my bug and blood donation, so it was slow and hesitating.

I will be glad when my body gets back to normal, because it's kind of unsettling to see your HR race without warning.

Walked first 5, last... something. Average HR for entire run: 116

Trail Run: 13.18 miles on Wildwood Trail in Portland's Forest Park



Weather: Sunny, warming. 58 to 71 degrees. Gear: Nike Terra Kigers, shorts, T, Camelbak. Fuel: Nothing until turnaround point at 1:45 in, then package of granola bars. One E-Cap at :30, then every 45 minutes thereafter. Only water in pack, tried to take a mouthful every 10 minutes or so.

This was my longest trail run in more than a year, and a run I very much needed to do, what with the Beacon Rock 25K coming up in a month. Reduced red blood cell count and lingering virus impact be damned; I HAD to get this run right. Or at least get through it.

And, happily, I did. I hit my goal distance and even negative split the course (considering the second half is downhill, that's not all that remarkable). It was my first test of my Terra Kigers on this trail, and they did pretty well, too. Feet are a little sore, but not horribly so.

What I didn't do, however, was maintain heart rate discipline. It's hard enough on that trail even when my body is fully charged and ready to go. Today, I knew it was going to be a challenge. I allowed myself to run and even above what the fitness test said is my lactate threshold of 143 bpm. As the run progressed, I only slowed to a walk when I hit 150. There were a number of times when I was well into what the test said was Zone 5.

That seems extreme, except for the fact that I knew my HR would be elevated, anyway... AND because of something else the test seemed to reveal: I seem to be able to recover unusually quickly on the move from a higher intensity effort. So, once I cracked 150, I'd slow to a walk until my HR fell back down into the 130s. Then I'd start up again. I don't know if there's some sort of strategy I can use to take advantage of that quirk in my physiology, but maybe.

Once I got close to the end, I allowed myself to hang in that higher HR zone -- and once I got off the rocks and onto asphalt, I said the heck with it and really floored it, hitting a 6:36 pace and approaching what the test said was my MaxHR. After all the careful slow running, simply, truly RUNNING felt pretty darn nice.

I made a point of not taking calories until my turnaround point. I probably could have gone longer, but I didn't want to make this a full carb-free run, considering how much glycogen I was probably burning through at the higher intensity.

Walked first 5 minutes, last 3 minutes or so. Average HR for entire run: 141

Map and profile:

Walk: 2.3 miles

Weather: Overcast, mild. 60 degrees.

A recovery-style walk along the Columbia River. My ankles are a little sore after yesterday's longer trail run, but only a little. The rest of my legs feel file, though I have a lingering knot in my butt from my boulder-moving adventure, I think. It doesn't affect walking or running, just sitting.

--

Gosh, sure has been quiet around here lately. Lots of other things occupying people's attention now, it seems. When I saw a post on Facebook about the TaperMadness forums and took a peek, I saw what I hope is not a preview of this site's future. Guess we'll see.

Mark B wrote:

Gosh, sure has  been quiet around here lately. Lots of other things occupying people's attention now, it seems. When I saw a post on Facebook about the TaperMadness forums and took a peek, I saw what I hope is not a preview of this site's future. Guess we'll see.

It sure has been quiet here hasn't it.  I've really enjoyed this site...and the previous one.  I don't post as often as some but I'll miss it if it dies!

Nice run on Monday!  That's longer and harder than you've done for awhile.  Nice to see that you weren't to sore/tired afterwards.  Beacon Rock here you come...

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Gosh, sure has  been quiet around here lately. Lots of other things occupying people's attention now, it seems. When I saw a post on Facebook about the TaperMadness forums and took a peek, I saw what I hope is not a preview of this site's future. Guess we'll see.

It sure has been quiet here hasn't it.  I've really enjoyed this site...and the previous one.  I don't post as often as some but I'll miss it if it dies!

Nice run on Monday!  That's longer and harder than you've done for awhile.  Nice to see that you weren't to sore/tired afterwards.  Beacon Rock here you come...

I know, Nancy. In some ways, our community has migrated to Facebook or Strava for a lot of its day-to-day workout postings, but there really isn't a forum available for continuing conversations like this one. It will be interesting to see if this place rebounds or turns into yet another online ghost town, full of little more than fading memories.

Anyway, I prefer a forum over a formal blog, because I'd feel obligated to actually write something in a post. I don't feel the need to make statements; I'd rather converse. (Yes, that was just a statement, but still.)

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Back to running. I was hopeful that I wouldn't succumb to DOMS today, two days after my trail run, and I'm happy to report that my quads are doing great! That's a good sign.

Barefoot Run: 3.1 miles on dry asphalt

Weather: Overcast, cool. 55 degrees. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T.

No DOMS this morning after my trail run Monday. Woot! Woot! Woot!

Even so, I was a little creaky when I started out, so my normal HR strap weirdness got on my nerves more than usual. Drives me crazy when I can't trust the data! (Garmin has a new concept HR monitor due out soon, and it is tempting.) Anyway, by pressing my hands to my chest like I'm self-administering CPR, I was able to get a sense of impact before I finally started sweating enough to make the strap work properly.

The run was pretty good. I loosened up in the first mile, and I held the same pace for Miles 1 and 2. My HR drifted up a bit, but it remained static for Mile 3, though I slowed down a bit. All in all, fairly encouraging... though I'm looking forward to being able ease back down to my actual HR target.

Average HR for entire run: 135

I guess that you've thought of purchasing a replacement?  I can tell you the HR strap for a FR305 works on my FR220, once it's been paired.  So, there's probably some commonality in functionality (wow! two 5 syllable words separated by itty bitty conjunction).

ounce wrote:I guess that you've thought of purchasing a replacement?  I can tell you the HR strap for a FR305 works on my FR220, once it's been paired.  So, there's probably some commonality in functionality (wow! two 5 syllable words separated by itty bitty conjunction).

Hot damn! He's alive! Welcome. Glad you saved up your polysyllabic utterances for me.

The Garmin that has my attention is the Forerunner 225, specifically because it reads the heart rate at the wrist rather than using the oh-so-glitchy chest strap. I have no idea how effective the technology will be -- for all I know, it'll be more glitchy -- but it has my attention. Even though I know it's the strap failing to make contact, my hindbrain still interprets the random high numbers as tachycardia.

Lowish HR Run: 90 minutes (6.69 miles)

Weather: Overcast, mild, a bit muggy. 62 degrees. Gear: Luna sandals, shorts, T. Fuel: None, but water in handheld.

I am not going to win any awards for maintaining heart rate discipline on this run, though at least I was consistently over my target by 4-5 bpm. But I think I'm still slightly hampered by my blood donation and sickness, and besides... I'm so close to my near-term target event that any base-building I do now won't kick until after the race. So... I'm more in race prep mode now, I guess.

I experimented with some form tweaks when I started and totally discombobulated myself for the first mile. Oops. I stopped for a minute and let my body reset, and the rest of the run was fine. Went out into the country route, got to see llamas, horses, cows, dogs, farmers, etc.

I tried to keep the effort level steady and relax as much as I could My paces were in the 12s to 13s, which is a slight improvement, so that was good to see.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 129

I know I go on and on about my runs in the country, but there are times when I wish they were just a bit more... undeveloped, like this spot.


So... very... tempting...

Right at my turnaround point yesterday, I happened across this dirt road some farmer had put in between crops. After miles of asphalt and chip seal roads (and watching out for cars), it looked so inviting. It reminded me of other times and places.



I even stepped out onto it, but alas... it was private property, and didn't actually go anywhere. (And that surface would be totally wonderful to run barefoot, btw. It felt so good underfoot.) Not many actual dirt roads out there anymore (at best, they're heavily graveled), but maybe I'll keep my eye out for opportunities.

Of course, if it had been raining, it would have been a total mudfest...which isn't necessarily bad, provided you don't do the splits.

TreadHill Workout: 3.5 miles total

Indoors, 68 degrees. Gear: Luna sandals, shorts.

I decided to try something different today and asked an ultra-nutty friend about whether I ought to do speedwork or short hill repeats and got a third idea in return: More of a steady-state treadmill workout at 6-8% grade, running slowly to develop the hill climbing gear. Clearly not a low heart rate workout, but not a lung-buster, either.

The workout calls for a long period, building up over time from about 15 minutes to an hour of constant work. But it seemed to me that I might benefit from doing it as a series of long repeats. I decided to go for 8% rather than 6% because, well, why not?

Here's how it went:

5 minute walking warmup, 0% grade, 3 mph.
10 minutes @ 8% grade, 4 mph (15/mi)
5 minutes @ 0% grade, 4 mph to recover
10 minutes @ 8% grade, 4 mph (15/mi)
5 minutes @ 0% grade, 4 mph to recover
10 minutes @ 8% grade, 4 mph (15/mi)
5 minutes @ 0% grade, 4 mph to recover
5 minute walking cooldown, 0% grade, 3 mph.


So I'd to 2/3 of a mile at the incline, 1/3 flat... all holding the same pace. It was difficult enough that I was looking forward to the end of the 10-minute repeat each time, but I wasn't too gassed to keep running during the recovery period. I think that's a good thing. After the third repeat, I noticed my HR wasn't recovering much, so I figured I'd stimulated my body enough. That took me to 3.5 miles total.



I walked a bit more at 2 mph after I stopped the timer to see if I could get my HR to fall, and it did, slowly.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 142

All in all, not a bad workout. I think I might like it.

Looks fun.  I think you'd like the Half Moon Bay, CA marathon. That was 30% hard trail and oh so incredibly beautiful.

Oscar barfed again  (on J's bed) and I thought of Fluff.

Julie wrote:Looks fun.  I think you'd like the Half Moon Bay, CA marathon. That was 30% hard trail and oh so incredibly beautiful.

Oscar barfed again  (on J's bed) and I thought of Fluff.

Ooo. That does look like a gorgeous place to run. I had to look it up, and I was surprised to realize it was so close to San Francisco. I guess I got Half Moon Bay mixed up with Shelter Cove, which is a tiny community north of the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park on California's "Lost Coast" It's so out of the way that when I visited it years ago, I started whistling the theme from "Deliverance" as I was trying to find a campground. It'd be an awesome place for a trail ultra.

Poor Oscar. But I'm sure Fluff appreciates being remembered. We were just talking today about how crazy it'd be if we could find a GoPro small enough to create a FluffCam.