Monday, June 29, 2009

Scenic Sedona

A video from my favorite running grounds, and the place I will be buried someday.






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Now playing on iTunes: Miles Davis - 'Round Midnight
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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Heat training for runners part...3?

I was going through some old threads on letsrun when I came across this post from Dr. Daniels related to heat training and heart rate. I have head a lot of people talking about how bad their running is in the summer, and have felt the effects myself, so I thought that I would throw this up here as food for thought.

"You are experiencing one of the flaws of getting too dependent on HR. The same VO2, same intensity of effort on the total body as it relates to your running, and blood lactate accumulation will be associated with different HR, which is quite dependent upon the weather, as you have experienced. If you follow HR then you are focusing you interest on HR stress and not on total stress. Heat will slow everyone down in the marathon -- some more than others because of how they are affected, individually. So, you don't have to back down your pace becasue your HR is higher than usual. Keep in mind that the work your heart does is a function of the resistance against which it pumps and the force of each stroke. When blood volume goes down, so usually does blood pressure and so does stroke volume. So even though you may have a faster HR the heart muscle may not be working any harder -- faster per beat, but less work per beat. As long as you are healthy, and it would seem you are, then go more by feel than HR. What heart-rate monitors are good at is they tell you how fast your heart is beating; pretty simple"

And here is another post from a different thread:

Some things to note about the heat and humidity?

The first thing is dehydration. You lose water and you body can't function correctly. Ph values get out of whack and heart rate increases do to lower stroke volume.

The second is that your body cannot cool itself in humid conditions because the air is already saturated. The desired effect of sweating is for the sweat to evaporate and cool you upon the phase change to a gas. That doesn't happen in humid conditions.

Your body reacts to heat training by increasing blood plasma volume to have more stored water for cooling.

Training in the heat helps you train better in the heat but not necessarily run faster.

Heat will limit both the duration and intensity of any given aerobic run.

A third big variable that people over look is that training in the heat is that it is basically the same as training at altitude. There is less oxygen in the air on a hot day. There is even less air on a hot, humid day. This is a fact. Airplanes need more runway to take off on hot days, and golf balls driven further from the tee because there is simply less air.

At first glance you might say aha! Altitude training that's great!

But altitude effects are due to a constant stimulus. Much like gravity is a 24 hours stimulus?the same is true for altitude. So in true altitude you are literally training in your sleep. But in the heat the stimulus disappears the minute you step into air conditioning. So in the heat you get the worst effects of altitude and none of the benefits.

I?ve run the numbers before and figured that a hot humid day (sea level, 85F, 90% humidity) is about the same as a cool morning in Denver (5200 ft, 35F,90% humidity) as far as oxygen content is concerned.

Figuring the heat part is easy. Oxygen content is an inverse linear relation the temperature. Higher Temp = Lower Oxygen.

For the humidity you need to consult the non linear psychrometric charts to determine thermodynamic properties of moist air. This is necessary to assess the humidity ratio as a function of temperature. Humidity ratio is simply an absolute measure of how much water vapor is taking up space in the air. It is not the same a relative humidity. Changes in relative humidity mean very little in cool temperatures because the air cannot hold water. But on warm days, relative humidity means everything because vapor is able to HOG up space in the air much more. So it is easy to feel the difference between 90% and 50% humidity on a warm day. But on a cool day it is not as easy to detect. The bottom line is that on warm days high relative humidity means far less oxygen.

Driving pressure makes a difference. Oxygen content has a direct linear relation to pressure. Higher pressure = Higher Oxygen. Higher barometric pressure can drive more oxygen into your lungs. High pressure occurs after a cold front passes through. Low pressure occurs during rain?or at altitude. As you go higher there is less pressure. This is why the captain pressurizes the cabin in an airplane. It is also the dominating effect on oxygen at altitude.

So we are really looking at 3 critical variables for oxygen content: Temperature, Humidity, and Pressure.

An optimal day would be cool and crisp at sea level with high barometric pressure aloft (cold front).

The worst day would be hot humid with at altitude with low barometric pressure aloft (storm system etc.).

A fourth issue to be concerned about is the actual sun?s rays hitting you body. This allows you body to ?cook?. Similar to a green house?the sun?s energy hits your skin as radiation and then it converted to heat...but your body can?t dissipate it because your sweat can?t evaporate. So your core temperature rises dramatically. A warm 85F in the sun is not the same as 85F in the shade or low intensity rays. So seek shade whenever possible. Don?t use oil sun screen either or you will really cook. One way to increase cooling/evaporation ability is to run where there is a breeze. But in the summer this can be tough to find.

Gases such as oxygen are not able to be absorbed/soluble as higher temperatures. This could affect the diffusion and transport process of oxygen through the lungs to red blood cells?or other areas in demand if you are over heated.

The bottom line is that if you are training for volume then heat is not optimal. The other issued is velocity. In any quality effort beyond 5 minutes length you really cannot take the time seriously in the heat. It means nothing. So you must train more by "feel" in the heat on quality days. Eventually that becomes a problem because especially near race time, hitting correct velocities is critical from a neuromuscular standpoint.

You must also train slower in the heat even on easy runs so your average velocity drops too. That's not good either. Perceivably if you try and hold to the same faster paces you could you on cool days, then you could slow up recovery too. I've seen people use heart monitors in the heat with some success to keep easy days easy...but the pace sucks.

Repetition and short speed sessions work out just fine in the heat. Just stay hydrated.

So people in cool climates are able to train more volume, at a higher average velocity and recover better. Sounds like a good deal doesn't it?

esmoke

Bottom line for best performance...move to San Diego. Or Bolder or Flagstaff. But probably San Diego.


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Northland Hospice 5k/10k run news article

An article on the Northland Hospice 5k/10k run.

azdailysun.com Sports

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Gaspin' in the Aspen story

Gaspin' in the Aspen run test runners' endurance, strength


By DANIEL BERK
Sun Sports Staff
Sunday, June 21, 2009

After he took first place in the 15k at the Gaspin' in the Aspen run at the Flagstaff Nordic Center, Rob Krar hung out at the finish line for as long as possible.

"Anybody who completes this course deserves a big pat on the back," Krar said. "This is a very, very difficult course. You start out at 8,000 feet and the race just gets harder and harder as you go through. "It's no joke up there."

According to the runners, the Gaspin' in the Aspen, the third race in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Summer Running Series, is the most difficult race in the series.

Not only is the race at an extra 1,000 feet of elevation, it's a 100 percent off-road trail with wood chips, pine cones, branches and leaves dumped throughout the course.

"You have to be exceptionally careful when you're up there," 5K winner Ryan Schmidt said. "You have to pay attention to every step you take. There's so many things out there, one bad step can cost you the entire race.

"This trail has everything you want. It's difficult, it's fun to run and the atmosphere up here is a lot of fun."

Krar finished more than a minute ahead of the second place finisher in the 15k, Zachary Thomas. Krar finished in 54 minutes, 50 seconds, while Thomas finished in 56:02. Vince Sherry took third, finishing in 56:39.

On the women's side, Sara Wagner won her third straight race in the summer running series. Wagner finished the 15k in 1:09.28. Michelle Wesson was the second female finisher at 1:13.11.

Both of the races before the Gaspin' in the Aspen were 5k and 10k. However, in order to add diversity to the series, the race organizers throw in a 15k at the Nordic Center and a half marathon at the end of the series.

"It gives us a chance to give the runners a mix of distances," NATRA director and race timer Neil Weintraub said. "With all of the obstacles up there, it almost becomes like a steeplechase, especially at the end."

In the 5k race, Flagstaff resident Ryan Schmidt won his second race of the summer, finishing in 18:22. Ryan Stevens and Jeff Organ took second and third, finishing in 19:08 and 19:48 respectively.

Jennifer McCarthy was the top female finisher at 22:20. Hannah Colter was second at 23:26.

For Krar, the race was an opportunity to help him train for the TransRockies Challenge he'll be participating in later in the summer. There, over seven days, Krar and a teammate will mountain bike over 113 miles in several stages.

"For me, I've really been training for the TransRockies and we really haven't done any speed work," Krar said. "Today's race was a perfect opportunity to get some speed work done in a really tough environment.

"I've missed a couple of the races this summer, but there was no way I was going to miss this one. A race like this really reminds me why I'm so lucky to live in Flagstaff."



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Sunday, June 14, 2009

back in the saddle...for now.



I had my first run since the marathon today. It was a decent run, about 4 miles that I probably went out a little fast on, but once the initial kinks got worked out I felt pretty good. I quickly came to realize that the heat sucks when running. After being in Carlsbad and San Diego where the weather is absolutely awesome, coming back home where it is 85 degrees at 8 AM was a real slap in the face. But it is reality and I must deal with it. After all, it can only make me a disciplined runner...right?

I keep waiting for the new Mountainside Fitness Peoria to open up, it has been delayed a few times, now it is supposed to open on the 27th. I think that adding in some free weights, spin classes, and core work classes will help to take my running up a notch.

With all of the happiness, I will be out of action running wise for about a week (if all goes well) as I am having a "minor" surgical procedure on Friday. I am not supposed to pick up anything over 10 pounds for 3 days and no running for at least a week. I will try to be back at it in 3-5 days.

It will be good to run a program at full intensity and as it is written. I dont think that I will be running afraid to get re-injured anymore as I am feeling pretty good and survived my comeback race.

I was going to add some links to recent races in Flagstaff, but dont have th etime today.

Anyway...later!



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Sunday, June 7, 2009

Article about Flagstaff runners and team Altius

azdailysun.com Outdoors

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Its done




The marathon is over and somehow I finished it. It was a very strange event as despite my training, driving to San Diego, going to the expo and everything else associated with the race, it really didn’t hit me that I was going to be running this race until I was standing in the corral and the announcer stated that the race would start in 3 minutes.

The expo was really nothing special this year; I assume that has a lot to do with the economy. Vendors were there, but in much smaller ways. Shoe companies that had big displays in the past were now down to about half the size they usually have, and the expo discount that is applied to the shoes and gear was minimal at best. But it was still good to see some new products and events. I did purchase I Halo visor which I must say did a great job of funneling the sweat away from my eyes and to the side of my head.

The weather was good, it was overcast and cool with a very light drizzle which caused some slippery road conditions but it was very doable. Due to injuries and the car wreck, it had been 2 years since I last ran a marathon which was the San Diego RNR so it was nice to be back here running again-almost like a homecoming of sorts. It was nice to know what was coming especially the long hill at Balboa Park, while at times it was good to know what was coming, at other times I was wondering “where in the world is the next mile marker, I must have passed it already”.

I really enjoyed the first half of the race, I kept my pace slowed down despite feeling like
I could have let it go out faster-I have learned this the hard way in the past. I also had to take a pit stop at mile 11. I kept telling myself that feeling like I had to stop would eventually go away, which it usually does, but this time it didn’t. So that added about 3-4 minutes to my time. When I got to 13.1 miles I was about 2 minutes over my “ideal” finishing time which I really didn’t think would happen, but if I was able to keep this pace while feeling good I could pick it up the last 6 miles and get, if not beat, my pre-race best case scenario.

This however, did not happen. About mile 18 I ingested too many calories (Roctane Gel, Cytomax drink, water, Accelerade drink I had with me, and orange slices that a nice neighborhood was handing out to everyone. They must have had 50 cases of oranges cut up, very cool of them. At around mile 19 my stomach started to cramp up. I have never had problems eating or drinking whatever I wanted while running so I didn’t think this would be an issue. It took about a mile until I was able to slowly run, but I had to lean forward to keep my stomach in one piece. The forward lean caused my back to hurt, and then my hamstrings and calves started to cramp. I have never not finished a race I have started, but I had to seriously convince myself to keep going as I really wanted to go to the aid tent at mile 21 and give it up.

I continued on by slowly running and a lot of walking. When it dawned on me that I was not going to be anywhere near the times I wanted, I decided to try and change my mindset and enjoy the race (as much as I could considering). I tried to take in all of the sights, attempted to thank every volunteer on the course, high-fived as many of the kids who were on the sidewalks looking to high-five the runners. In the end it was a very enjoyable way to experience parts of San Diego.

THEN…with the overcast sky and winds my soaked clothing started to chill me to the bone. When I saw my wife at mile 26 she said that my face was a white as it could be, she knew immediately that I was not doing well. With about .2 miles to go a guy was running by told me that I could do it and to run with him and a couple of other guys who were also struggling for whatever reason. We ran together and all finished the race “running’.

All I wanted then was the tinfoil blanket to wrap up in like a baked potato and warm me up. The finishing area was set up so that the sheets were the very last thing you got before leaving the area, which I know they did so the runners kept moving after finishing and did not have all of the blood in their legs and intestines rush to the lower intestines and cause the famous end of race puking. But I really needed that blanket.

So despite the fact that I finished 55 minutes slower than my ideal time which I thought I was going to get, the fact that I kept going and did not give up was probably better for me than if I would have finished 30 minutes faster. It showed me that I was able to pull myself together and gut out a finish. Now for my next marathon I have full confidence that I can get my ideal time, not only that I think that I can beat it by 15 or so minutes. You can do great things if you believe in the power within yourself.



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