Right in Front of Me

Inspire: Running in the rain

If you’ve never run in the rain I suggest you try it as soon as possible.  I saw FIVE runners out in Central Park yesterday.  Five.  And for the first time in my short history as a runner in New York, every single one of them said “hi” or gave the universal runner’s wave. It was like we were discovering a New York secret: when it rains (on a weekday, at least), nobody runs outdoors. 

You know what Shane wants to do when it rains? He wants to go outside and stomp in every puddle he can find.  He thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world and, now, so do I. I’m not recommending you go out there and soak your running shoes in the puddles, but I am suggesting that it’d be well worth your while to run in the rain. You’ll feel like a kid again. You’ll feel a little crazy and you may feel a little wet and cold, but at the end of the run you’ll feel magnificent.

Update: Jarrod

We met our case study, Jarrod, back on February 21st.  At that time, his PR for the half marathon was a 1:30:37 (6:55 per mile).  His goal was to break 1:25 at this past weekend’s Brooklyn Half Marathon and break it he did…

In just 3 months, Jarrod took 8 minutes and 21 seconds off his previous best, finishing in a blazing 1:22:16.  He said he felt great out there (without his watch, mind you) and believes he can only get faster.  The craziest thing about his improvement is that he didn’t follow the plan 100%.  He missed more than half of the scheduled interval workouts as well as a couple of the longer runs.  But prior to this training, his running plan was not existent.  

The moral of this story: write a plan for yourself with specific workouts geared towards changing the way you run.  If you find yourself always running the same few distances at the same sort of pace, it’s time to mix it up.  Your body is bored and you probably are too.   

Train: Ditch the Watch

Maybe they should put calculators on running watches so you can calculate splits while you run.

I expected a decent amount of resistance from two clients of mine who are running the Brooklyn Half Marathon this Saturday when I suggested they run without a watch.  Both  are gunning for a PR (one to break 1:30, one to break 1:25.) Fortunately, both agreed to take off their watch. We compared running to taking an open book test.  When taking an open book test, you may be 95% certain of an answer, but end up wasting five extra minutes to find the support from the book.  Whereas in a closed book test, if you did your homework and studied, you’ll be in good shape. Take off the watch and trust your training and experience.

Jarrod, who is aiming to break a 1:25, had a plan to run 6:30’s for the first 5 miles and then run 6:20’s to the finish.  Jarrod is a beast and I have no doubt his body is capable of averaging 6:15’s for the entire race.  However, he may have pulled back in the race if he saw a 6:15 split after the second mile. By taking off the watch he’ll have a better chance of giving his best effort on that given day.

Ironically, time will tell if this experiment works out. Stay tuned.

10 Things We ALL Learned about running today

So long Timex watch.  Thanks for the memories.  I won’t be needing you any longer.

With so many friends and family running today, I’d be an idiot not to ask some of them what they learned from the race this morning.  

1) “No matter how focused on training I am, when my 5 year old comes into the room at 3 am saying that his throat hurts and he feels hot, I will always let him crawl in between us to snuggle. Even if it means being sick for race day.” -Jenn

2) “Porta-potty’s suck a lot, but they’re cooler than peeing your pants.” -Katy

3) “Spectators love to tell us how many miles we have left as if we haven’t been counting since, oh, I don’t know, mile one?” -Dan (He blogs too: runningasiseeit.blogspot.com)

4) “Empty your tank. I had more in me and should have left it all out there. And scratch technology. I spent the whole first mile messing with my IPhone trying to get my Map My Run and Pandora working.” -Gabe 

5) “I have new respect for people who basically sprint for 10 miles. I also beat my wife by 4 minutes.. but she stopped to pee.” -Randy

6) “You can only find race effort on race day and a beer after a week of no beers is the tastiest beer ever.” -Kevin

7)  “There’s nothing more helpful than having people run with you to get you through it.” -Adrianne

8)  “Always take care of your nipples.  You only have two.”  -Peter

(I’ll take the last two.)

9) The theme song from Rocky will never get old.  N-E-V-E-R.  

10) There’s a revolution going on with barefoot running, lets add bare arms to that revolution.  It was liberating out there on the course without a watch and if I did have it on, I probably would have ran slower because I would have thought I went out too fast. Try it, folks.  Ditch the watch.  You don’t need it.

Clarify: Being Present

A friend and faithful reader of the blog, FDC, sent an email saying that two of the goals for tomorrow’s race were misguided.  I respect FDC’s opinion as he, himself, is a very competitive runner, but feel compelled to respond as I stand by them entirely. 

Goal #1: Don’t wear a watch. Run according to how you feel and don’t get consumed with splits and times.  Just run.

FDC’s argument: “Always wear a watch.  You are running competitively.  You always want to rock it, even if you’ve been a slug.  The watch will remind you to train better next time.” 

Clarify: I’ve always worn a watch and have let the splits after every mile dictate how I felt on that given day. I could have run what felt like a fast mile only to see a split that countered that feeling. I’ve been a runner for too long to let a watch be a coach and a crutch on race day. It’s time to start learning how to trust the mind and body more because I’m pretty sure they’re smarter than a Timex or a Garmin.

Goal #2: Be present.  Try not to focus on the runner next to you or in front of you; just listen to your body and keep checking in with the feet, legs, arms and breath.  One mile at a time.

FDC’s argument:  ”What?   Being present IS watching the runner in front of you.  And those who pass you!  In the absence of that, you are in Narnia .  Play with Aslan, the Lion.”

Clarify: First off, phenomenal literary reference.  Secondly, if I focus on the runners around me, which I’ve often done in the past, I’d start to run their race as opposed to my own.  Lance Armstrong was known for having unreal tunnel vision when he raced and I witnessed this first hand at the Austin Marathon 2011. I ran “with” him for 8 miles with a huge camera on my head. He never once looked backwards or sideways; he kept his eyes on the prize and ran his race.  I’m tired of letting other runners get the better of me.  I’m running my race tomorrow and plan on loving every second of it.

A side note: FDC did support my stopping to get a beer at mile 9, but only if I am “feeling and great and rocking it (which is why you need a watch.)” If I’m feeling great, my friend, I’ll get that beer sans watch.

Race Preview: Broad Street 10 Miler

A few months ago I had planned on training like a madman for this Sunday’s 10 mile race in Philadelphia, with the intention of breaking an hour.  Well, that didn’t happen.  I was having too much fun being a dad and a husband and training took a backseat.  One day off led to two days off and then it turned into a week.  There wasn’t any type of consistency to the training and there sure weren’t any track workouts. Do I regret this? Not one bit, but expectations must be managed. 

I’ve learned that it’s beneficial to put together a game plan because every race is another chance to learn and grow as a runner.  Here are the 5 goals for Sunday:

1) Don’t wear a watch (that’s an easy one).  Run according to how you feel and don’t get consumed with splits and times.  Just run.

2) Have fun and enjoy the atmosphere.  Broad Street is as much of a party as it is a race. If someone’s handing out beers at mile 9, why not stop and toast with the fans who were nice enough to come out.

3) Ease into race pace.  Let the first mile be a warm-up and then gradually put the foot on the pedal.

4) Be present.  Try not to focus on the runner next to you or in front of you; just listen to your body and keep checking in with the feet, legs, arms and breath.  One mile at a time.

5) As always, have fun.  Be grateful that you can run and are running.

To any other runners who are running this weekend: best of luck.  This course lends itself to potentially very fast times so take advantage of the straight and slightly downhill course. (FYI, the course record is 45:14 set in 2007. That’s absurd.)

Update: Jenn

Jenn has the Broad Street 10 Miler this Sunday.  After a solid 8 weeks of training, lets see how she’s feeling leading up to race day…

So the goal was to break 1:30…is that going to happen?

YUP

And how do you feel?

In a word: strong.  I can notice a major difference in my core strength and old nagging aches and pains in my back and calves haven’t caused any problems.

Game plan for the race?

My plan is to break the race down by 2s. I’m hoping this will help me both mentally and physically. During my long training runs I seemed to notice my body working that way. Often my 1^st two miles felt cumbersome and then around the 2 mile mark I seemed to settle in. Once settled in I was able to increase my pace, seemingly “shifting gears” every 1.5 to 2 miles. Mentally, I hope this breakdown will give me the feeling of accomplishing “mini goals” with each 2 mile mark!! Since my main focus for Sunday is to feel good in the late miles, and ultimately upon crossing the finish line, I also plan to let me body be my guide.

You weighed in at 149 with a body fat percentage of 27.3%.  Where are you today?

142 pounds, 22.3%. 

And all we did was mix up her program, give her some specific speedwork at the track and guidelines for the gym.  Results don’t get much better than Jenn’s and they support the idea that we need to constantly shake up routines to get results in training.  Will she run a 1:30 on Sunday?  At this point, it really doesn’t matter; she’s already won in my book..

(But she’ll probably come in closer to 1:26.  Here previous best is a 1:27 and she’s damn competitive.  Time will tell, no pun intended…)

Train: Flow like an animal

Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results.  All too often I see people come to the gym only to do the exact same workout every day and then get upset that they’re body isn’t changing.  It’s not changing because it doesn’t have to adapt any more; it knows what you’re doing.  This same law applies to running, my friends.  Go and run 6 miles every day over and over and over and all you’ll end up doing is getting bored, overtrained and injured sooner than later. Mix it up.

I had the privilege over the weekend of working with Mike Fitch, President and Creator of Global Bodyweight Training. Mike had 20 of us moving like apes, crabs, beasts, scorpions and frogs in a workout appropriately called “Animal Flow.”  What he was doing and saying just reiterated why it’s so important for all of us to mix up our routines.  Think outside the box.  Try taking a class in gymnastics for a couple of months to get you moving in new planes of motion. Or take a dance class or a yoga class every now and again if it’s not already in your routine.  The more you can confuse your body and take it out of its comfort zone, the better off you’ll be and the better you’ll feel.

10 Things I learned about proposing: by Bill

Bill and his fiance, Latoya. 

Two weeks ago today, my brother Bill got down on one knee and asked his wonderful girlfriend to marry him.  Fortunately, she said yes.  So tonight this blog will take a break from running and fitness talk and possibly shed some words of wisdom to any of you out there who are are or have considered proposing.  In Bill’s words, here’s what he’s learned…

1)  I am the luckiest man in the world.
 
2)  Latoya may be certifiably insane for saying “yes.”
 
3)  The advice, “When you know, you know” is the least helpful advice to anyone in the world…unless you know.  Then it makes complete sense and is brilliant.
 
4)  Contrary to popular belief, and no disrespect to dogs, on proposal day - FLOWERS are a man’s best friend (side note: a diamond is an obvious pre-requisite, multiple diamonds are preferred).
 
5)  Rehearse it in your head and/or in front of a mirror as much as you want, you will still sound like a bumbling idiot if you speak for too long.  Short and sweet is the way to go.
 
6)  SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT - The Three Dollar Scholar by Jon Finkel is a must read if you’re going to pop the question (and I also stole half of his ideas).
 
7)  You definitely feel different afterwards.  Not different like after a nice, new haircut.  Different like after discovering nuclear fusion (or so I would imagine). 
 
8)  I’ve never appreciated unlimited texting more than I did on that Sunday.
 
9)  Fiancee is a French word that takes some practice before it flows naturally from an English-speaker’s mouth.  It often sounds like, “my girlfr-i mean fiancee.”  Don’t worry.  Most Americans know exactly what you mean.
 
10)  The elation of the proposal is often crushed day’s later with the reality of planning a wedding.  Send money please.