How important are weekly mileage totals?

One of the beautiful things about reading lots of blogs is that you have lots of measuring sticks to compare yourself by. One of the most significant (for runners) is weekly mileage.

Compared to many of the marathon training runners I read, my weekly mileage is on the low side. During the two months this year so far, I have varied from low/mid-30s to mid-40s. More the 30s in January, and 40s in February (though this last week was about 35-36 miles--I'm calling it a cut-back week).

It's hard to say whether I'll get higher than mid to upper 40s in March, either. My marathon peak number has always been just a little over 50 mpw, and I don't see going higher than that this time around. Unless I can bump up a couple midweek runs from 6-7 miles (currently) to 8-9 miles, I may not hit 50 at all. (The reason these runs have been a little shorter than I would like is not because of lack of ability to run, but rather due to lack of time in the mornings before work.)

Some of the bloggers I read are also training for Boston, and thus are on the same time line as me. Compared to some of them (but not the ones who are truly insane) I am definitely on the low side. My first example is in the 50s right now, and probably heading for the 60s in March. (The second one runs marathons on the treadmill, so there is no comparison! I write this with true admiration and amazement, mind you!)

The reason my mileage is low (and will remain that way, relatively speaking), is that I generally only run four days a week. A fifth running day is an exception, and might occur if I have a short race during the week, or I'm on vacation, and running is my only exercise option.

I'm fairly comfortable with low totals because I believe I pretty much meet my training objectives with each run I do. My first run of the week (Monday or Tuesday) is an easy run, 6-8 miles. On Wednesdays I do speed work, either 800s or other short repeats, or a tempo run, again with a total distance of 6-8 miles. Friday I do a medium long run of 8+ miles, with some of the miles at goal marathon pace.* Then my long run is over the weekend, on Saturday or Sunday, anywhere from 12 to 22 miles, depending on where I am in the training cycle.** Those runs could add up to anywhere from low-30s to mid-40s.

The question is, can a person adequately prepare for a quality marathon performance on less than 50 miles a week of running? Obviously, elite runners and top non-elites run a lot more, probably 80-100 miles a week (which is completely out of reach for most of us!). Other "good" runners might target 50-60. I think it's not unusual to see mid-level runners (like me) in the 40s, and doing just fine.

In the last year or so there was an article (which I have no idea how to find) that said most of us are running way too few miles for our training objectives. The bottom line was that what we might consider marathon training volume is more appropriate to the half marathon distance, and perhaps it's better to run shorter races (half mary, 10K, 5K) than run a marathon on this amount of training.

I thought the author had a good point in that there is no shame in transfering your training efforts to shorter races, if that is your preference. However, I do dispute whether you can run marathons on moderate-mileage training. I believe you can. I also believe it's important to get in a couple of 20+ mile runs; I would be very uncomfortable running 26.2 miles if I hadn't done 20 at least once (preferably more).***

I have no real conclusion to this post. I believe that everyone has a weekly mileage range that works for them. Some can pump out high volume and not get hurt (or over-trained), others manage to run their marathons on what seems like shockingly low mileage (to me), and then those like me are in the happy middle.

This morning: 7.10 miles easy, 10:15 average pace.

*Last Friday I did 11.11 miles, with two warm-up, three at sub-9:30 (actually 9:20s), three around 9:00 (9:02, 9:04, and oops, 9:18), and three as close to 8:30 as I could get (8:45, 8:25, 8:35).
**Yesterday's long run was only ten miles, due to snow on the ground, time limitations, and my decision to make it a cut back week between 20-milers.
***So far I've done 17.5, 19.25, and 20.65. I have three more 20-ish milers on the schedule (one is actually a 30K), and I figure if I somehow miss one I'll still be in good shape.

ABCs of Me

"Everyone" (that is almost every blog I read) is doing this quiz and I couldn't resist jumping in. "I love quizzes!"* (Potential answer for Q category.) So here goes.

A-Age: 45. I think I am the oldest person I've seen participating in this.
B-Bed size: Full. I have an old house with a switch back staircase and it seemed like a good idea when I moved in and bought the mattress. I'd like to upgrade to a queen but I'm reluctant to spend the money. Also it would require cleaning up my bedroom before I could have it delivered!
C-Chore I hate: Unloading the dishwasher. Taking out the garbage. Pretty much any chore but cooking.
D-Dogs: Don't have any...too hard to care for when I work full time and like to travel. But I have three cats!
E-Essential start to the day: Hitting the snooze button for a few more minutes of sleep! Also, I have to have breakfast every day, but not first thing...I usually run or go to to the Y first.
F-Favorite colors: Pink, green.
G-Gold or silver: Silver.
H-Height: 5'5.5" (5'6" for BMI calculation purposes).
I-Instrument I play: Piano.
J-Job title: Attorney (juvenile court).
K-Kids: Just my clients! I spend my days with teenagers, my nights are child-free.
L-Live: Everett, WA.
M-Mother's name: Anne. With an e. N-Nickname: KT (only at work and with work friends--I don't have a nickname in my family).
O-Overnight hospital stays: Only one time, when I had fibroid removal surgery. I was bummed that I didn't get off the liquid/soft food menu until I was close to being discharged, so I barely got a chance to order from the restaurant-style menu!
P-Pet peeve: Oh, there are so many possibilities...but a major one is drivers who don't look for pedestrians when making right-hand turns.
Q-Quote from a movie: I have so many! "I like you, just as you are." (Bridget Jones's Diary) "Is that blue soup?" (Bridget Jones's Diary) "After all, tomorrow is another day." (Gone with the Wind) "I never want my chicken any other way." (Heartburn) "I love your nose!" (Hearburn) "I don't want to have a baby...can't someone else have it?" (Heartburn) "I am eschewing men, and carbohydrates." (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason) (Note: I think she said "eschewing" in the trailers, but possibly changed it to "giving up" for the movie...dumbing down for American audiences, perhaps?)
R-Right or left handed? Right.
S-Sibling: One younger sister.
T-Time you wake up: 5:30 with alarm, 6:30-7 without. That doesn't necessarily mean I get up then.
U-Underwear: A few years ago I bought LOTS in a good sale at Macy's and haven't needed to get more since. I fear that when all of my supply wears out (perhaps in a simultaneous fail of all elastic) I won't be able to find any replacements I like.
V-Vegetable you dislike: Can't thing of one. Seriously.
W-What makes you run late? Oh dear. Well...staying in bed too long. Running a little too far. Stopping at Starbucks even though I'm short on time. Refusing to skip breakfast. Enjoying the hot shower a little too long. Watching something on the Today Show. Unexpected clothing fail (many variations on this). Cats' food/water dishes need filling. Persistently underestimating the time it takes to park, walk to the court entrance, get through security. Wearing shoes/boots that set off the metal detector. Sigh.
X-rays I've had: Many dental, once when I sprained my ankle while studying for the bar exam, and both an X-ray and MRI when seeking treatment for my achilles tendon.
Y-Yummy food you make: Well, I think everything I make is yummy. I especially love Kabocha Squash Soup, and Rod is very fond of Pear Upside Down Cake.
Z-Zoo favorite animal: I'm not really a zoo fan, I guess I don't like seeing wild animals outside their natural environment (and I don't particularly want to see them there either!)

So there you go, all about me, alphabetically! Now it's your turn!

*This is from Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.

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Neither hail nor snow...

Nor gloom of morn, nor thunder and lightning, will stay me from the moderately swift completion of my morning rounds! Seven mile recovery run, that is.

Reflective in the darkness!

I can't claim that my weather adventures this morning can compete in any fashion with the extreme cold and snow that runners throughout many parts of the U.S. are still tackling. I am probably not alone in facing a surprise twist in the forecast after winter had seemed to be going away! My Facebook post from earlier in the day says it all: "The rumors of winter's demise have been greatly exaggerated."

Early this morning (like 4 a.m. or so) I woke to hear what sounded like two different kinds of precipitation pounding my roof. Heavy rain, a familiar sound...and something else, at the time unknown. I now believe it was hail. By the time I officially woke up at 5:30 I heard only the sound of rain. And in fact, it was probably the sound of leftover rain dripping from the eaves and gutters, as it was not actually raining by the time I left the house at 6:30.

Considering the 20 miles on Sunday and downhill skiing yesterday, my legs felt quite good this morning. By the way, let me insert that I had fewer after-effects from Sunday's run than I have had from any long run ever! Even though I didn't take an ice bath! My only treatment was taking Advil when I finally got around to taking a shower in the mid-afternoon, and then another dose of Advil before bed. Although I felt a little stiff throughout the afternoon, I had absolutely no leg aches and pains during the night, and on Monday (and today) I felt just fine. My quads felt just a little tired after a couple hours of skiing, but they probably would have anyway. Monday night I went to the Y and squeezed in 20 minutes on the elliptical before my yoga class. I love this yoga class because although there is a good amount of difficult core and strength work, we also get some great stretching in. Last night near the end we did two minutes of frog pose, followed by pigeon. Fabulous hip stretches.

Anyhow, back to today. I had run about a mile and a half when the skies opened up and I was pelted with hail! I decided to keep going, as none of the hailstones seemed big enough to cause any injury. This first hail episode didn't last too long, maybe ten or fifteen minutes. I was trotting along when I saw a huge flash of light in the sky. "Is that lightning?" I asked myself. A few minutes later the thunder confirmed that it was, in fact, lightning. It must have been pretty far away, though, as there was a pretty good delay between the lightning and the thunder.

What next, a funnel cloud?

No, in fact what was next was more hail! This time it did not stop very quickly. I am pretty sure it hailed steadily for at least half an hour or more. I took this picture to reflect the scene, but you can't really tell that the streets are covered with ice pellets, rather than light snow as it appears here.
As I was running along I held my hand out and caught some hailstones to photograph for posterity. (You can also see the hail on the sidewalk below.) I also ate a few that I caught in my mouth.
I greatly preferred the hail to rain. Even though my jacket eventually got soaked, my face and glasses did not get wet as they would have in the rain (even with a hat).

By the time I reached downtown, the hail had turned into snow, and continued the rest of my way home.

I think my efforts to outrun the weather paid off, because my average pace for 7.01 miles was 10:30 per mile, which is a little faster than I would normally get for the first morning run of the work week.

I am very glad I made myself get out of bed and didn't allow myself to postpone the run "till afternoon." I don't know what the weather is right now--we had heavy snow in the late morning and sun in the early afternoon--but by the time I finish stuff up and get home I will be happy just to hang out with the cats, take out the garbage (ugh) and have dinner.

Long run Sunday

First 20-miler of the season--20.65 miles in exactly 3 hours 35 minutes. That's a 10:25 average pace, which is a pretty accurate representation of my run. Most of the miles were 10:20 - 10:35, with a few slower (including one that was mostly uphill, 11 minutes), and a fast final mile of about 9 minutes, go me!

Even though I would have been pleased to be done around 15-16 miles, I never suffered. I felt quite good when I finished and I'm sure I could have gone further (though I was happy to stop, as well).

So that brings me to the topic that I have been thinking about...how do I pass the time in a long run? (This is different than in a long race, though.)

As in any run (including races), it helps to break the distance into smaller chunks. My standards are 5-mile segments and 2-mile segments, or sometimes a combination of the two.

I also like to break it up into segments by geography, as opposed to just mileage. These segments can be shorter or longer, but generally speaking longer is better in the beginning, and shorter is good near the end, in the last few miles.

For example, today I had the following segments to run through (I know this will be boring)...start to 64th (less than a mile), up to 67th (more than a mile), to light at Grove, to 88th, to 108th, to high school and roundabout, back to State Street, all the way to the start of the highway, across highway to Everett (2.5 miles +), to the top of the hill by Legion Park, along the waterfront with random signs as landmarks, to Marina Village, around Marina Village (one mile), to the pedestrian bridge that took me back to Grand Avenue, north on Grand to 19th, east to Colby, south on Colby to 23rd, Everett Avenue, Pacific, and 37th, where I turned aound. At this point I had a little more than a mile to get back to my finish point at Starbucks, and I just ran to random landmarks from block to block. Done!

I almost always use my iPod to distract my mind. (Unless it is tragically discharged!) I have been tending to listen to podcasts for parts of longer runs, usually Phedippidations because it's about running and the host, "Steve Runner" has a loud clear voice that is easy to hear over most traffic. I do feel that I run slower with podcasts than I do music, ALTHOUGH last year I once did a fabulous and fast long progression run listening to podcasts up to the last three miles.

I like shows that are about an hour because when you finish one, you've done 5-6 miles! I might listen to two or three episodes, then switch to music for the last few miles. Today I played three podcasts and didn't turn on music till mile 17.

I like to set little goals to make myself run a little further before I do something. For example, if my podcast ends at 4.5 or 5.5, I'll keep running (in silence, I CAN do it) till I finish the next full mile before stopping to adjust my iPod.

I will plan to take Gu or other fuel at a certain mile, but maybe push myself to wait until the NEXT mile before I do it (unless I am feeling weak). Today I had a Gu after nine miles, before heading onto a 2.5-ish-mile highway segment. I felt I needed extra energy to tackle that and didn't want to stop while I was on it...otherwise I might have waited until ten miles. (I didn't eat anything else until I was done, I didn't need it or even think of it!)

Last week I had ShotBloks with me (three bloks per serving) and I spaced them at miles 10, 12, and 14 of a 15 mile run. Gave me something to look forward to!

(This delayed gratification scheme works for music and food, NOT for bathroom stops!)

I think turning on music for the final miles (after listening to talking) really shakes things up and give me extra energy for those difficult miles.

Sometimes my own thoughts help pass the time, and sometimes not thinking does. For example, if I start fretting about work stuff (this usually happens during the week more than weekends), it is very freeing to tell myself that there is nothing I can do about it during this running time. I intentionally set these thoughts aside for an hour or so.

If I am not trying to pay attention to a podcast, I might tell a story in my head. For example, go over the events of a trip to England or Hawaii as if I were describing it to a friend. Or tell my "running story" or "weight loss story" like I was being interviewed for a magazine. Or maybe plan out a future trip, real or imaginary. (Recently I was fixated on the idea of going to Disney World in the rather distant future with my whole family when my niece was old enough to enjoy...of course it would include the Goofy Challenge half and full marathons. I spent some time mentally training my sister to do the half with me. We would do run-walk to make it easier for her and not wear me out too much before the full marathon.)

Sometimes I compose entire blog posts, but unfortunately my brilliant ideas rarely survive the run!

Today, since I was listening to Phedip, I didn't do too much independent thinking. :)

I finished at Starbucks where I bought my reward mocha. I have a bunch of free drink coupons but unfortunately forgot to bring one along. I had contemplated veering past my house to get one but really didn't want to stop at home until I was DONE. So I sacrificed a few bucks.

A lot of times after a LONG run my walk home from Starbucks has been hard, but today I felt great and loose, and was able to walk faster than I usually do after a much shorter morning run! Since then, later in the day, I have stiffened up some and am moving a little more slowly. Hopefully there won't be many aches and pains in the night. I rarely take Advil but I did this afternoon and I probably will at bedtime as well.

SKIING TOMORROW!
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In the market for a new hairdryer

I need one that will dry my hair within a minute when I point it at my head.

Kidding. Sort of. I am interested in finding a more powerful, faster hairdryer. Although the one I have seemed good when I got it, it seems to take so long to dry my hair these days. There's got to be something better. I have a super-expensive one in my Amazon shopping cart, but I need to reread the reviews of why it's so fabulous before I fork over the big bucks.

Yesterday I had to go to work with slightly damp hair because I just didn't have enough time to dry it all the way. (Made for a nice look the rest of the day. Not.) Of course I know it's my own fault for staying out running (or at the Y) till the last possible moment (and beyond), after which I MUST stop at Starbucks on the way home and I MUST eat a full breakfast before it go to work. All of this leads to bad hair, no makeup (obviously), and being two to ten (ouch) minutes late to work.

So obviously a faster hairdryer is a necessity. As is better weather so I can force myself to get up earlier. (Of course that would probably mean I run an extra mile or two, rather than allowing extra time to get to work!)

Yesterday (Friday) I ran 10.31 miles with 8.25 at marathon goal pace effort. (Of course, I only had enough time for 8-9 miles....) My average pace including the two warm-up miles (10:52 and 10:13 for those) was 9:33. Pace splits were 9:33, .25 mile at 9:22, 9:23, 9:28, 9:26, 9:30, 9:26, 9:02, and 8:40.

My ideal goal marathon pace would be a little faster than that, but I am happy right now with the 9:30 or so pace. If I can pick it up over the next two months, great, but I would be pleased to be able to sustain this pace as well. (Now, for a half marathon I'd better get back to sub-9 OR ELSE!)

I did my so-called "speed" workout on Wednesday after work. Granted, my average pace was slower than yesterday's, but it was a different type of run, 'kay?

I was lazy on Wednesday morning and the weather was bad. So I allowed myself to stay in bed (and was NOT late to work that day) and postponed my run to either afternoon or Thursday. Fortunately I was able to man up on Wednesday afternoon and got it done.

I didn't get home till after 5:00, or out till about 5:30, so it was already dusk and getting darker. The bummer of this (other than my not liking to run in the dark) was that I could not see my Garmin unless I stopped under a street light. Kind of hard to monitor my pace under those conditions. I would have to run by feel and find out later how I did!

I wanted to do what I call a progressive tempo run. It's a wimpish version of a tempo run because instead of holding a hard pace for a longer period, I start slow and progressively increase the pace throughout. I wanted to start at 10:30 and speed up by about 30 seconds every two miles for eight miles (possibly with a bonus mile at the end).

Here is how I did. Keep in mind I had almost no opportunity to see what my pace was as I was running.

Miles 1-2: 10:43, 10:27
Miles 3-4: 10:08, 10:07
Miles 5-6: 9:42, 9:35
Miles 7-8: 9:02, 9:05
Mile 9: 8:19 (woohoo!)
Plus .53 mile at 9:22 pace. Average pace for 9.53 mile - 9:40. I was especially pleased at how consistent my 10 and 9-minute miles were!

I am really happy with running these days. I am back to the mental place where lay in bed at night and imagine myself running. Yes, I fantasize about running. What, is that weird?
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Runners, Yeah We're Different

This link should take you to a bunch of pretty funny pictures from an old Adidas ad series. You might recognize yourself in some of them (figuratively speaking). (Of course, you would never be wearing that dated running gear!) Hope the link works. (I'm doing it from my BlackBerry, so who knows.)

http://chayden.net/Runs/Adidas/
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Guess I REALLY squeaked in under the wire....

I just read the news release about the newly adopted Boston Marathon registration procedure for 2012 and new qualifying times beginning 2011. All I can say is, I'm lucky that I qualified for 2011 and got registered, because from now forward the chance of my qualifying or getting in has decreased immensely!

In case the link doesn't work well (I had trouble opening it myself), here are the deets.

For 2012 (and presumably thereafter), the Boston Marathon will have a two-week rolling registration period. In 2012 the actual qualifying times will remain the same as present. For the first two days of registration (beginning September 12, 2011), only persons who have marathon times that are at least 20 minutes faster than their qualifying time will be allowed to register. Then for the next two days people who have times that are ten minutes faster can register. For the remainder of the first week, people who have run five minutes faster than qualifying time may register.

In the second week of registration, if there are any spots left, anyone who has a qualifying time may register. However, at the end of that week the available spots will be awarded to the fastest applicants in their age and gender pool. Following the two week registration period, if there are still any spots open, any qualified applicant may register, on a first come, first served basis.

Beginning with 2013, the qualifying times will be lowered by five minutes (and 59 seconds, eliminating the 59 second grace period) in every age group. I assume the same registration process will be in effect.

So I think it's fair to say, the Boston Marathon will no longer be an option for 45-year-old-slightly-ahead-of-the-middle-of-the-pack females. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. I do feel horribly sorry for runners who qualified in the fall of 2010 and opted to hold off to 2012 to enter, as it looks like it will be a lot harder to claim their places!