Long Run Addendum
My entries for the weekend were pretty brief because I was up in Dallas, visiting both my parents, going to a Christmas party, et cetera. I was pretty happy that I was able to get my long run in before we left on Saturday, so that I could run somewhere I was familiar with. One thing I did was do it all without the heel inserts I had used at Decker, since I felt that they were making my arch sore, and I had no achillies issues afterwards so I think that’s well and truly dealt with.
As I mentioned in the earlier post, I ran it as a real endurance building run; I had water at miles 8 and seventeen, a few sips of PowerAde at mile ten, and that was it. I should have had more water at least along the way, but didn’t do a very good job of planning. Running without any energy-aids such as Gu or a signifcant amount of PowerAde was difficult, but intentional. The idea is that this will deplete my internal stores of glycogen (which it did - about 16 miles in) and the resulting problems will convince my body to produce more in the future and better manage the amount that it does have. That’s the theory, at any rate. I’ll be doing my 20 miler on 1/8 the same way, but my long run next week and my 30k race on the 16th will be done using the refueling strategy I’m planning for the marathon - periodic Gu, regular PowerAde, et cetera.
I really liked the fact that I the first 16 were so - uneventful is the only word I can think of to describe them. Hopefully next week that number will be pushed out to 18 or more. I may even end up running them with a friend, which would help, although to be honest I didn’t really mind being by myself even on these long runs. Still, that last section would have been easier with someone else to stick to. It was worse because I ended up next to my car at about 18.2 miles when I was down for 19.
That was rough. I didn’t really consider stopping there, but I tried to run up the trail untill 18.6 which would give me 19 on the return. I ended up turning back at 18.4, thinking that if I did that I’d least hit the 30K mark. Then when I got back to the car I realized that I had less than half a mile to go, so I just kept running back the way I came. I’m sure the folk messing with their kayaks nearby were wondering wtf I was doing. The bottom line was that I got the miles in and - other than being tired that afternoon - suffered no real ill effects from the distance. That was a good run, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how well I handle it again this Saturday.
The part of White Rock trail that I ran on yesterday was interesting. It was a beautiful day - a little cold, but fabulous for running - and yet it was almost deserted. I saw a total of six bikers, two runners, and a lone walker even though I was out for almost an hour. I can’t think of a time, even in the middle of the night, when I could spend an hour on Austin’s Town Lake Trail and see so few people.
I attribute this to two factors. I mean, I know that Austin is more fitness-oriented than Dallas, but Dallas is so much larger than Austin that there should be a decent amount of offset. Anyway, the first problem was that the trail was concrete rather than asphalt or gravel. This is good if you’re on a road bike, but not very welcoming if you’re a runner. Ah, well. Still, its a nice resource to have access to.
The other issue with this part of the trail was access. In Austin, there’s a path to and from the trail at every crossing opportunity. In Dallas, except for one situation where the trail ran along a sidewalk for half a block, there were no access points! I had to run up a hill and through the grass behind an office building just to get on and off, something that can’t be helping its usage.
In lighter news, this is the first time I’ve been able to get out of the house and run when I came up to visit my folks, so that’s a step in the right direction.
Next week, I’m debating between running four five-mile loops (making it easy to have a periodic refueling station) and running the final 1/2 of the marathon course (plus another 7 miles). Feel free to chime in with advice!
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Dec 20th 2004
3:03 PM
that’s a pretty interesting ‘refueling’ training method. i’ve never heard of using a training run like that to teach your body what to do with depleated fuel stores.
i guess i’ve been burned so bad by bonks in the past that i make a point of not letting it happen again. i’d be interested in reading up on your theory if you have some books or links to share.
Dec 20th 2004
4:24 PM
Hi,
Do you have any suggestions for someone that wants to start running, and has never “run” before?
Thanks!
Michelle
Dec 20th 2004
4:57 PM
Richard, I am just so interested by this. I know I don’t run long distances (yet? yet!) but I never do anything about water and/or refueling. What’s the theory on this depletion training thing? I mean, I understand everything you said, but is it only good training if you *also* do runs where you’re refueling? Now that my long runs are getting over 7 miles, is refueling something I should be thinking about? Dang, I need a book. - Mia
Dec 21st 2004
7:21 AM
Sounds like a great run. I don’t know much about distances like that but I’m sure the plans you have for refueling are what you know will work for your body.
Dec 21st 2004
8:00 AM
Jeff: I’ll dig out more information about that training technique just as soon as I remember where I got it from :-)
Michelle: Absolutely - I have almost no time right now (wrapping up the Family Visitation) but I’ll try to get some ideas down later this week.
Mia: Yes, fueling is something that you should probably think about. For the most part, you should be fine at the half-marathon distance without much in the way of extra fuel - if you did a good job of fueling the two days beforehand. Again, more later.
And thanks for y’all’s comments!
Dec 21st 2004
11:01 AM
Yeah, that’s the thing about Austin, it’s all so well-planned and accessible that all those fitness opportunites are just hard to ignore. Now, my city and Dallas are a different story — you’ve got to go searching about for all those fitness-minded folks and green spots, but they’re there. I like White Rock Lake, though, and I’m glad you figured out a way to stick to your schedule even when you’re out of town. Next time, ride the DART — I’m totally in love with the rapid transit they’ve got going on up there.
Dec 21st 2004
12:38 PM
I’d be careful about the “depletion training”. Except for the mental benefits of knowing what bonking feels like, I don’t think there is much physical benefit to it. I believe when glycogen stores and hydration are not properly maintained, you are doing damage to your muscles by continuing to exercise. While this state is common in a long race, I think to maximize your training (meaning getting the greatest improvement from your muscles) you need to properly fuel and refuel during training. For example, the purpose of the long run is to increase your aerobic capacity - the creation and enhancement of blood vessels that carry needed oxygen to the muscles. During times of dehydration, glycogen depletion, low sugar levels, etc. I believe the muscles are not developing these blood vessels. Instead, they are probably “shutting down” to prevent further damage. The damage being similar to when we run run anaerobically. The benefits attained from this type of training are fatigue conditioning and possibly some greater strength/speed (at shorter distances)if you rest appropriately. The end result is an ability to race 20 miles but not 26. These comments of course are just based on my experience and not necessarily correct but I thought maybe you’d like to hear a differing point of view for the sake of comparison. I enjoy reading your posts! -Andy
PS. I found a marked improvement in my ability to run long once I started running past my set-up water station every 3-5 miles.
Dec 21st 2004
7:45 PM
If you haven’t run the second half of the marathon course while fresh, I highly recommend it. The first time I did that it totally changed my perspective of the whole thing since I had never felt that good running along that way before. Now I know what I’m “supposed” to feel like when I get there on race day!
Dec 22nd 2004
3:36 PM
good job on keeping up the long run while away from home. That takes some planning and forethought. And if you think Dallas is a barren wasteland for runners, try coming to South Arlington once — I maybe have seen five different people actually running in my neighborhood. I see a few more walking on the trails (concrete trails), but not much beyond that.