8-0 Kansas Jayawks!

Sorry, I had to interrupt training for this message.

The Jayhawks have not been 8-0 since 1909 which is longer than it's been since I had run more than a mile. For those of you keeping score at home, it's NOT as long as it's been since the Cubs have won the World Series.

In case any of you need a little "churching up" to the Jayhawk religion, here is the fight song "I'm a Jayhawk!"

Running Log

If you are interested, here is an automatically updating log of my running travels:

Afternoon Sun

Normally I run in the morning, just before sun-up with the stars shining brightly and the really early runners marked by the bobbing lights attached to their heads. Today I neglected to set any sort of alarm clock, and slept until nearly 6:35!!! With the schedule we have, that gives me no contact with the family and puts me to work later than I like if I jam a run in there. That late there are also more goofy folks driving while under the influence of cell phones and the impression that if you drive fast enough and run enough stop signs that time will run backwards and you'll be on time for work... They obviously thought Einstein didn't check his work.

This afternoon, after work, I made my run. Not a long run, but a nicely paced 3 1/4 mile trot (with some walk breaks). It's interesting that it seemed to take longer to get started and comfortable than starting early in the morning (coughing out "water park" may have had some effect as well). I also thought it was colder than I thought and wore the running pants for the first time, which was a miscalculation. My legs felt like lead and then they became very sweaty, and it was with some trepidation that I sat down and removed the long pants in front of my friends at the BVM. With natural cooling enabled, the run improved, but I was still having a hard time with running in the afternoon vs. the morning.

Whether it's the sun or some sort of habitual rhythm I don't know. It was different, and I shouldn't complain as I moved my normal run a little longer and still had a decent pace.

The Kalahari vs. Training

Kalahari wins.

The Kalahari is a water park in the Wisconsin Dells. This time of year, the fun is inside a three-acre building where there is a collection of rides, slides, and pools that alternatively thrill and beat the bodies of people like me who enjoy the excitement of the slide downbut not necessarily the four-story climb back up to the loading zone. Impressively the ride provides water from every angle as you navigate its turns, and between the trip down and the landing at at the bottom, you will be immersed from every angle with water ending up where it may or may not be intended.

After two days of excitement, my legs were dead, my lungs were fully chlorinated, and many parts of my body were vigorously pruned. Needless to say this knocked me two days off my training regimen.

In a wonderful coincidence, the Wisconsin Dells area is full of places that have what's known as "recovery food" to help rebuild the system and prepare the novice runner for a full return to action.

Wally's House of Embers is just such a place. Since I wasn't making a big run in the Dells, no carbo-loading was necessary. Fortunately prime rib was available that helped to rebuild my protein store and give me the energy I need to carry on. In a pinch, the tasty crab legs, which I also sampled, would have sufficed, but taking training seriously means protein--plenty of that from the House of Embers prime rib. My hearty thanks to the Obois family who also supplied me with the other pillar of training, a nice glass of robust red wine.

Now that my lungs are clear and my protein store restored, I'm ready to resume training.

Chapped Legs and Greased Nipples

At some point, especially with the oncoming cold, this training thing requires that one listen to those who've done it before. To one of my College of Coaches I mentioned: "It's getting cold out here, so this is becoming more interesting in the morning." This was after a run where I came home, and it appeared my legs were chapped and my nipples were sore.

One piece of advice I took to heart: "You don't need to be uncomfortable to do this. Dress appropriately, but not too warmly." So I went to the Shoe Shack, where fortunately there was a sale on last year's styles, and I was able to purchase a nice set of lightweight running pants and a jacket with reflective piping.

The other piece of advice I didn't heed as thoroughly: "If it's getting colder, the air's also getting drier. You should start greasing your nipples." I thought this was some sort of new runner snipe hunt, and I ignored it vigorously.

I'd seen the nipple discomfort mentioned in one of the "Zillion things that can happen when running a marathon" article in the Chicago Tribune a few weeks ago, and thought that this was something that could only happen to people who spent more than four dollars on a cup of coffee or hired therapists for their dogs at $120/per hour. Low and behold, it can happen to people like me who rarely pay more than a dollar for coffee (or mooch it) and put the dog in the garage when he barks too much.

Unfortunately, I was involved in a large corporate function on Friday, and while speaking with high-level executives, I was often thinking, "Darn, my nipples are really sore." I explained to my wife this dilemma, and she went into a monologue about how "women have had nipples for millions of years, and all of a sudden men figure out that you have to treat them correctly..." and continued on to discuss layering, preparation, etc., and continuing to explain that the article I had read in the Tribune was probably written by a man (actually written by a woman Chicago Tribune staffer Julie Deardorff). I am, however, remediated, and I am obviously more sensitive than I was earlier in the day.

Anyway when I go out in the morning, I'll be wearing pants and greasing my nipples, and there will be nothing NC-17 about it. Just me, aerodynamic, greased, and wholesomely running.

Six More Minutes Off -- Look Out Roger Bannister!

By following the Jeff Galloway running plan, one of the interesting side effects is that the schedule periodically invites you to run a "Magic Mile" which is a quick mile once you're warmed up.

Since the goal of the plan is "no injuries," especially those that would take you off the running schedule, the Magic Mile also has a similar disclaimer, "no puking." So while there is more exertion than usual, there's hopefully no more wear, tear, and soreness than usual as well. So for me, it seemed fast, but I'm certain that commentators on television would comment that my rate of speed is "glacial."

Nonetheless, coming from runs of nothing to doing six and one-half miles last weekend, there's progress being made, and being able to make thirteen miles in January in Phoenix is starting to look real as opposed to a long daydream with sweaty activities thrown in.

So, I timed a 10:40 on my magic mile, which means that if I keep improving at my current pace, Roger Bannister's four minute mile should be just beyond the horizon...

Refining Rest and Recovery Techniques

This evening, after my legs were beginning to feel a little stiff and sore from Sunday's (the previous day) run, I decided to try the whirlpool tub again, this time with hot water.

As I've been told, avoiding injury is the and integral part of making it to the half-marathon and on to finishing. As such, I had to ask for assistance after I'd entered the tub but left my wine glass on the other side of the bathroom. Fortunately for me, my valet brought me the wine glass (cabernet) and a small towel to keep my fingertips dry so as not to ruin my copy of The Economist.

After a few minutes in the tub, my legs feel better, and I'm ready to get back out in the morning.

Halfway Home?

Today I finished 6 1/2 miles. Theoretically this means that I'm halfway to the half marathon. The training schedule says I've got a long way to go however.

I came home today and sat in a bathtub full of cold water (as recommended by a friend) and for the first time since owning the home, used the whirlpool feature of the tub and peacefully read Car and Driver while drinking a cup of coffee. Legs felt better, and there are lots of cars I can't afford out there.

I'm currently at the point where I'm running two minutes and walking one (following the Jeff Galloway plan for beginning runners). Compared to the one-to-one ratio of a few weeks ago, I feel like I might actually be periodically "running" compared to "plodding" or whatever. The stride does not yet look or feel like Jim Ryun, but I now feel the wind blowing by when I speed up.

Six and a half miles isn't thirteen, but it's getting there. So far, so good.

Running Update, Oct. 3

Oddly enough I felt I was running faster, but actually ended up slower than on Monday. It was cool this morning, however, and the sky was dark blue, maybe actually a "dark azure" for those of you who know.

The half moon was out and Orion was still shining brighly enough that I could make out the belt and the sword, and it didn't just look like a bunch of random dots. I don't know how astronomers would account for the strobe light of a passing jet, flashing across the body of the archer. Would the greeks have considered it a bee, a fly, or what?

Other Things Than Running