Fueling Your Marathon

I’ve seen a lot of FB posts recently where runners are asking how they should fuel for longer runs and races. The answer is… there’s a formula for that! I’m going to have to do some math to explain this. But don’t be afraid, I promise I will make it as simple as possible and I will explain everything!

SCIENCE FACT #1: I AM NOT A NUTRITIONIST! I am a running coach. I just read some articles online and tried a few things out on myself, and I’m going to tell you about it. Now that that’s out of the way…

SCIENCE FACT #2: A 2010 paper by Dr. Benjamin Rapoport M.D., Ph.D. tells us that a typical human body burns about 0.73 calories per pound of bodyweight per mile. That’s right – your speed doesn’t matter! (https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/10/fuel-efficiency-for-marathoners/)

Using my 150-pound self as an example, I burn about 110 calories per mile. (150 x 0.73 = 109.5) Remember – speed doesn’t matter. So for a marathon (26.2188 miles to be exact, but I’ll use 26.3 since I can’t seem to run those tangents closely enough), I would burn about 2893 calories (26.3 x 110 = 2893). Since there are about 4 calories in each gram of carbs, that comes out to about 723 grams of carbs (2893/4=723.25).

SCIENCE FACT #3: Research has shown that the human body can absorb about 1 gram of carbs per minute.

Still using myself as an example, my body would need 723 minutes (1 gram per minute) to be able absorb the amount of carbs it needs to completely replenish the calories I use during a marathon. That’s over 12 hours! On pace for my BQ time (which I cannot currently sustain for 26 miles, but that’s what I’m training for) I only have 3:40 – or 3.666 hours. So, during a BQ marathon effort, my body will only be able to absorb about a quarter of the carbs needed to replenish all the calories burned. So I can’t possibly keep up. Now what?

Well, it turns out that your body only uses carbs for about 75% of energy production (the rest comes from fat, yay!) That reduces my marathon carb needs to about 542 grams of carbs (723 x 0.75 = 542.25). But that would still take 542 minutes to absorb, which is over 9 hours.

SCIENCE FACT #4: A 2008 paper by John R. Bennett, MS, CSCS and Michael P. Kehoe, Ph.D. at the University of Central Florida (my alma mater) cites research showing that performance is impeded when carbohydrate reserves dip below 30-50%. (https://www.nsca.com/uploadedFiles/NSCA/Resources/PDF/Education/Articles/NSCA_Classics_PDFs/marathon_fueling_techniques.pdf)

Good news! We don’t have to replace 100% of the carbs burned during a marathon, only a third to a half of it. Even better news! In my example of myself, 30% -50% of the carbs I would need is 163 to 271 grams (542 x 0.30 = 162.6; 542 x .50 = 271). This is totally doable since 163 minutes (1 gram per minute, remember?) is about 2:43, and 271 minutes is about 4:31. Now I’m in range! For my fictional 3:40 BQ marathon, I should be able to absorb 220 grams of carbs since I have 3 hours 40 minutes, which is 220 minutes (again, 1 gram per minute.) in which to do so.

So, how does this work in real life? Well, you see that you can’t really replace all that you are using. But you also don’t want to fall too far behind. The truth is that you need to practice your fueling strategy just like you practice running. Common running lore says that you don’t really need nutrition for runs shorter than an hour. When your marathon-training long runs go beyond an hour, it’s time to start practicing your fueling. That way you can find out what works and what doesn’t during training instead of during your race.

Here’s what I do. I take my first gel at about mile 4. Then I immediately take a couple sips of water.  After that, I take another gel and a few sips of water every three miles (miles 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25). In a marathon, with only a mile to go, I don’t think it’s necessary for that last dose at mile 25; you should be concentrating on cranking out that last 1.2 miles and looking good for the finish line photos!

Let me tell you that in my own personal experience, the first time I followed this plan was during my most recent marathon (April 2017) and this also happened to be the first of my three marathons where I did not “bonk”, or “hit the wall” around the 20-mile point. Nope, I was running strong and happy and evenly-paced throughout. It was also my fastest time. I used Boom! Gels, and if I remember correctly, I don’t think I could manage to cram in any more after mile 19. If you look at race pictures, I’m holding a gel for the last three miles!

Note that many of the leading sports gels (Gu, Boom!, Hammer, Clif) each have about 25 –ish grams of carbs per dose. Make sure you take them with water, since the body requires water to digest carbs. Some people find they can’t handle the concentrated carbs; it’s ok to go natural, but real food is harder to carry then gels. Some people use pretzels, fig newtons, dates, etc. You could even combine your carbs & water and just sip a sports drink, but make sure you are getting enough calories per sip. Another reason to practice to find out what works best for you.

I hope that helps! Fuel up for your next half or full marathon, and be sure to let me know how it goes!

Train Your Brain

Since you’re reading this blog, I’ll assume you’re a runner. You might consider yourself fast or slow, but if you get out there on the road regularly and have the desire to improve, you’re a runner as far as I’m concerned. As a runner with the desire to improve, what do you do? Hopefully you are working different energy systems by varying your running speed and not always plodding along in the same fashion over and over again. (You’re not? Hang in there, I’ll cover that in another post eventually!)

So you’re physically training. What else is there? You need to train your brain! You may not realize it, but your brain is in control of many things that affect your running. Your brain decides:

·         “It’s too early” (It’s not; get your lazy butt out of bed and go run!)

·         “It’s too hot” (Rarely. Dress appropriately, be adequately hydrated, slow down, and get out there.)

·         “It’s too cold” (Even more rarely. Dress appropriately, warm up, and get out there.)

·         “It’s raining” (What, are you afraid to get wet? Look, today I ran 9 miles in 59° rain, and I ended up less wet than when I was running two weeks ago in 80° dryness!)

·         “My legs were tired, I just couldn’t hold my pace today.”

Let’s talk about that last one. Chances are, that “my legs are tired” idea comes directly from your brain, and not because your legs told your brain they were tired. Scientific studies have shown that what we perceive as exhaustion is really just your brain trying to convince you how tired you are based on how much effort you’re expending.

“What we call exhaustion is not the inability to continue; it’s basically giving up,” Samuele Marcora Ph.D. said in a recent interview with Competitor.com.  “The reality is that the neuromuscular system is actually able to continue. My idea is that it’s basically a safety mechanism like many other sensations. So you have sensations motivating you to take a certain course of action for survival. Think about thirst or hunger or pain. All these sensations are there to make us do something. That is actually beneficial for our survival, and I think perception of effort does the same.”

This makes some sense, however, just like you can train your muscles, you can train your brain. But How?

One idea is that we have a limited supply of willpower. Waste it on something else, and you may not have enough of it when you need it in a race or training run. Here are some tips from The Science of Running

1.      Prioritize

Don’t waste willpower on inconsequential problems. Far too often we stress over small decisions with little or no payoff, and just end up causing decision-making fatigue. Don’t stress over what to eat for breakfast or what color shorts to wear.

2.      Make Important Decisions Automatic

Just like teeth brushing, make the key decisions in your life and in running, automatic. Research shows that automatic decisions drain less of your willpower, so take advantage of it.

3.      Plan

If you know you have a big race, test, challenge, or event coming up, plan it out so that you aren’t depleting your willpower going into it. Look at it like training and simply taper off things that suck your willpower going into the event.

4.      Train

The mind can be conditioned. How we respond to challenges and tests of self-control become ingrained into us. You can change how your brain activates and that can be a good thing or a bad thing. You can actually increase your capacity to deal with depletion of willpower. You can train to have a bigger reserve or take smaller scoops out of that reserve with each challenge. In other words, practice using your willpower.

You can train your use of willpower with some of the following:

• Deciding not to eat something that’s bad for you
• Going to bed at a regular time each night
• Running each day or X times per week.
• Plan some key training runs when you are already tired from your weekly routine
• Pre-Stress your brain with complicated puzzles and games before an intense workout

 If you want to raise your running performance to a higher level, consider adding brain training to your next race training plan!

Random Thought #2: Adrenaline

During an "easy" run, it takes approximately one mile to burn off the adrenaline produced after you realize that the clicking sound approaching you from behind is the sound of a pit bull's toenails.

Tips for a Great Long Run

You don’t want to get bored running, do you? No, of course you don’t! You should be running differently at different times during the week. When training for a race, you should have AT LEAST 3 training runs each week:

1.       Intervals

2.       Tempo

3.       Long Run

Each of these different types of run has a different purpose. You may also hear these referred to as “effort days.” (Plan at least one “off” day between your effort days, BTW). Today I want to discuss the Long Run. If you’re like me, you want to have a good Long Run, because that will make you feel confident on race day.

DISCLAIMER: I am neither a doctor nor a nutritionist, but over time I have found some things that work for me. I will share them in the hope that they work for you also.

Most runners tend to do their Long Run on a weekend, because most runners have more time on weekends because most runners have to work all week so they can afford more running shoes. That’s also a good thing because when training for half or full marathons, your weekend long run will simulate your goal race, and those are almost always on weekends. Really early in the morning.

TIP #1: As you get closer to your goal race, try to do your long runs at the same time of day as your race. This will help train your body to perform at that time of day.

Another important factor in the long run is nutrition. This is more than just right before you run. Proper nutrition helps you get the best out of yourself for your Long Run, or any run for that matter. Proper nutrition starts right after your previous “effort day”.

TIP #2: After any training run, get a recovery meal into your belly within 30 minutes. There are physiological reasons for this timing that I won’t go into here, just do it.

A good recovery meal contains a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein and is related to your body weight. Aim for one-half your weight in pounds as the number of grams of carbs, and one-quarter of that as the number of grams of protein. For example, if you weigh 160 lbs, that’s 80 g carbs and 20 g protein. I make myself a shake with non-dairy milk, some agave syrup, a banana, cocoa powder, and 2 scoops of Arbonne Protein Powder. At first, I just had the protein shake, and I didn’t notice much difference. But when I read about the ratio of carb to protein and the proper amount per weight, it made a huge difference. To be honest, it is really filling to take in 80 g of carbs and 20 g of protein after a run. At first I felt really full. But a couple hours later, I was ready to go again! The fatigue was gone!  Now I save this nutrition plan for when I am training for a race

Nutrition continues the night before your long run (you’re going to get up early to run, remember?)

TIP #3: For best long run performance, avoid adult beverages the night before. I know, I love my beer too. But this helps if you want to feel your best. Instead, eat carbs and make sure you are fully hydrated.

When I wake up on the morning of my long run, the first thing I do is get something to eat. My go-to long-run-morning breakfast is an open-faced peanut butter & beet sandwich on whole wheat bread. I started using beets recently when I discovered they help your body process oxygen (see my

Log post on beets). The nutrition for my pre-run meal comes out like this: 39 g carb, 16 g protein, 18.5 g fat; 360 calories. I use Eureka organic bread and Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter. I use that peanut butter because the ingredient list is short: peanuts. That’s it.

Bread: 22g carb, 7 g protein, 2.5 g fat.

PB: 7 g carb, 8 g protein, 16 g fat; 190 cal

Beets: 10g carb, 1 g protein, 0g fat, 30 cal

Tip #4: Take in about 300-400 calories before your run. You may have to work up to this if you’re not used to it.

If you are used to having caffeine every morning, make sure to have some before you run. Finally, your Long Run nutrition includes fueling during your run, if your run is long enough.

Tip #5: If you are going to be running longer than an hour, fuel on the run.

Take some energy gels or a sports drink with you. Here’s what works for me: I take an energy gel at mile 4 (that’s somewhere between 32 and 37 minutes for me). Then I take another gel every 3 miles after that (24-28 minutes). There is a formula (http://www.active.com/running/articles/4-steps-to-perfect-marathon-fueling) but an easy rule to remember is to take in about 1 g of carb for every minute you run. Energy gels are usually 25-30 g carbs each, so one every 30 minutes fits that nicely. Once again, you may have to work up to this if you’re not used to it.
(See my detailed blog about this topic here: https://plantbasedplodder.blogspot.com/2017/12/fueling-your-marathon.html)

Tip #6: Hydration. Weigh yourself before and after your long run. You should try to replace each ounce of weight lost with an ounce of water. If you can do this during your run without having to pee, even better.

And of course, after your long run the cycle repeats itself with another post-run meal. 

We Choose to Go to the Moon!

This week marks the 48^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 trip to the moon. Apollo 11 launched July 16 and landed July 20, 1969. Because my family moved to Merritt Island, FL when I was 6 so my dad could work on the Apollo program, and I lived in that area until I myself was a 28-year-old parent, I think it’s safe to say that the space program had a huge influence on my life. Even now, one of my favorite inspirational quotes is one from John F. Kennedy speaking at Rice University on September 12, 1962 – about 35 days before I was born:

But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? (Why does Rice play Texas?) We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. Because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.

Why ever start running in the first place? Why enter a 5k race with hundreds or thousands of other 

people? Why sign up to run twice as far, a 10k? Why spend around two hours running the 13.1 miles of a half marathon? And why in the name of all that is holy, subject ourselves to 20 weeks of training to spend about 4 hours running 26.2 miles – a full marathon - at one time? I won’t even mention Ultras! Why choose this as our goal?

Not because they are easy, but because they are hard. As humans, we need to set goals for ourselves to prove to ourselves that we are capable. For some, it’s proof that we have become capable for the first time. For others, it’s proof that we are still capable.

Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. Training for any event, especially a full marathon, is an effort in itself. We put ourselves through intense mental and physical effort to endure the temporary pain of training in order to earn the permanent glory of completing our goal. We need this. It affirms our existence as human beings.

Because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.  We might not literally win the races we enter; in fact, odds are we will not. But we accept the challenge, we pick a date, and we start training. We talk to and learn from others. We read. We google. We ache. We grimace with effort and we smile with victory. Choosing a goal, working toward it, and eventually achieving it makes life worth living.

It doesn’t matter what your goal is, but you should have one. And you should make it count. And when you have achieved that goal, you should choose another, loftier goal that challenges your newly acquired strength and ability. Keep challenging yourself and you keep growing, no matter how old you are.

Choose a goal today, and then go achieve it. Not “just another 5k.” Step it up. Reach for the stars. Extend yourself. If you’re a couch potato, get up off that couch and sign up for a 5k! If you’re comfortable with 5ks, move up to a 10k. If you’ve done 10ks, try a half marathon (it’s America’s most popular distance, after all.) When you’re ready, go for the whole enchilada: 26.2 miles. Or take your favorite distance and aim to do it better this time. Try something you’ve never tried before, or try to do something better or stronger or faster than you’ve ever done before.

What’s your Moon shot?

Tart Cherry Juice

First of all, I'm sorry but I can't think of a cute rhyme for tart cherry juice like I did for beets. If you think of one, please feel free to add it to the comments.

Choose your supplement $ wisely. IMHO Some are worth it and some are not. I think tart cherries are on the "worth it" list. 

Tart cherries are a nutritional gold mine. They contain various antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents including many vitamins and minerals. Other nutrients within tart cherries include fiber, protein, ("You're vegan? Where do you get your protein?") omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, folate, choline, quercetin, cyanidin, and anthocyanin.(1)

A better-known benefit of tart cherry juice is its ability to fight inflammation. In a 2006 study, researchers confirmed that the anthocyanin in tart cherries can relieve the inflammation due to arthritis. In a 2012 study, researchers found that drinking tart cherry juice twice daily for three weeks reduced pain in patients with osteoarthritis. Blood tests also showed significantly less inflammation. (1)

Now we get to the info that is meaningful to runners  like you and me: how tart cherry juice helps long distance runners.  A 2010 study found that drinking tart cherry juice for seven days before and during a strenuous running event minimized muscle pain after the run. Another study in 2006 found that tart cherry juice is effective in decreasing symptoms related to muscle damage from exercise. For example, the strength loss after drinking cherry juice was only 4% compared to 22% for the placebo.

Tart cherry juice is also very helpful in the recovery after a marathon, according to the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports in 2010. The juice provided viable recovery after a marathon by increasing total antioxidant capacity and decreasing inflammation, which in turn helps the muscles recover. Tart cherry juice also contains potassium, which helps with hydration and muscle recovery.

Now, as I've said before, SUM NON MEDICUS (I AM NOT A DOCTOR.) However, my experience with tart cherry juice leads me to believe in the above cited research. I did my own recent experiment. The week before my marathon on 4/23/27 I started the cherry juice regimen. On marathon day, I ran strong and never "hit the wall". I even had a finishing kick! (Let me tell you that this was not the case with my first 2 marathons!) My quads were a little weak immediately after the race but after some food and a good night's sleep, there was little residual soreness. I consider this a big plus. 

For comparison, I stopped drinking the tart cherry juice leading up to a half marathon 3 weeks later. I was more sore after this HM than I was after the full marathon!

Be careful though - the tart cherry juice I found at the local grocery store was watered down with Apple juice. That stuff did not seem to work.  I finally bought some Country Spoon Montmorency Red Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032JKWGI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_n6zBuF6U6XMZh). I mixed 1oz of this with 5 oz water. This stuff works! If you're not a fan of tartness, just use more water.

Footnotes

1) http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/food-and-nutrition-articles/benefits-of-tart-cherry-juice/amp/

Beets!

A new twist on an old rhyme from our childhood:

Beets, Beets; The magical fruit;

The more you eat, the faster you scoot.

The faster you scoot, the better you feel,

So eat your beats at every meal!

I don’t really like beets. I think they taste like dirt. But I am willing to eat them before a run for the performance benefits. There is real science involved here, and my personal experience is that it works! Maybe it’s just a case of “thinking I can,” but I’ll take every little bit of help I can get. Read below for a summary of the science, with footnotes and everything. Follow the footnoted links if you’re really into scientific and mathematical explanations of running physiology.

Beets are a great source of inorganic nitrate. Some of the nitrate ends up in your saliva, when friendly bacteria convert it to nitrite. Elsewhere in the body, the nitrite is converted to nitric oxide, which does... well... a whole bunch of things related to blood flow, muscle contraction, neurotransmission, and so on.¹

Eleven recreationally fit men and women were studied in a trial performed in 2010. The purpose of this study was to determine whether whole beetroot consumption improves endurance exercise performance. Participants underwent two 5k treadmill time trials in random sequence, once after consuming 200g of baked beetroot and once after consuming a cranberry relish placebo. Velocity during the 5k run tended to be faster after beetroot consumption. During the last 1.1 miles of the 5k run, velocity was 5% faster in the beetroot trial. No differences in exercise heart rate were observed between trials; however, at 1.8k into the 5k run, rating of perceived exertion was lower with beetroot.²

In another study, 10 healthy men ingested 3 different amounts of beetroot juice and were challenged with both moderate-intensity and severe-intensity cycle exercise tests. The higher amounts of beetroot juice (up to 10 oz) were found to reduce the steady-state oxygen uptake during moderate-intensity exercise by up to 3%, (i.e. it was easier to bike faster) whereas time-to-task failure was extended by up to 14%.³

Thus, consumption of whole beets can improve running performance in healthy adults. The maximum effect is felt 2 to 3 hours after ingestion, with everything back to normal after 12 hours.

Bonus: beets were also found to lower blood pressure by up to “10-over-4”.

Eat a couple of beets two hours before your next race or training run, and see for yourself!

Footnotes:

1.       http://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/beet-juice-how-much-and-when

2.       http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267211019484

3.       https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23640589

4.       http://www.precisionnutrition.com/beets-and-beetroots

Until next time,

The Plant-Based Plodder

Random Thought #1: No Speedwork = Weight Gain

I decided today to add a new feature: when a random thought hits me, I'm going to write it down.

The first Random Thought occurred to me today as I had my daily weigh-in. I've been weighing myself each morning since I started marathon training back in December 2016 for a race in April 2017. As my training progressed, my weight took a wiggly path downwards to a place where I had lost 12 pounds (156 -> 144). Since the race, I've noticed that my weight has been slowly inching upward.

Now, I'M NOT A DOCTOR, but today I had the Random Thought that maybe my slow weight gain is due to the lack of speed work. Even though I'm still running about 30 miles per week, I have not been doing any speedwork - intervals or tempo runs - since the race. I've been just enjoying running for a while, with no training plan other than how far to run on a given day. I think the lack of intensity in my current training is driving my slow weight gain.

I'm going to do some experimenting. I'll let you know what happens.

Running With the Bull

Running With the Bull

At the beginning of June I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in Vegan Eden, that is, Farm Sanctuary. Nestled in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York, the rolling green pastures of Farm Sanctuary’s 175-acre New York shelter are home to more than 500 rescued farm animals. Farm Sanctuary rescues, rehabilitates, and provides lifelong care for hundreds of animals who have been saved from stockyards, factory farms, and slaughterhouses. Rescued residents are given the care and love they need to recover from abuse and neglect. All of the animals enjoy nourishing food, clean barns, and green pastures each and every day. When you visit Farm Sanctuary, you’ll see frolicking calves who once knew only pain and suffering in veal crates. You’ll see pigs slumbering in soft straw rather than filthy, crowded stockyard pens. You’ll see animals experiencing joy and freedom for the first time in their lives.

What amazes me about this experience (my second time here) is that farm animals exhibit many of the same emotions that we humans expect only from cats and dogs.  I sat in the barn surrounded by sheep, and they came to me wanting to be petted. While I was paying attention to one, another forced her head under my elbow in a demonstrated need of affection. Later on, another one climbed into my lap.

Why am I talking about this experience in a running blog, you might ask? First of all, it’s a vegan running blog (check the name again). Second, the most amazing experience came during an evening visit to the cow pasture. Bear with me here, it’s worth it, I swear. When I and my group of five other humans showed up at the pasture fence, a lively young bull named Valentino saw us and came running over to the fence from about 100 yards away. Valentino was rescued in 2015. He was only about a day old, one of many newborn calves brought to New Holland Auction in Pennsylvania that day. Since he was a male born into the dairy industry, he was destined to be sold for veal. But, small and hobbled by leg deformities, he was considered “defective” and thus unmarketable and would likely have been left to a slow death. He ended up in Cornell University Hospital for Animals, where he arrived with vagus indigestion syndrome and pneumonia in addition to his leg deformities.

So, here’s a two-year-old-bull, born hobbled by deformities, running over to us at the fence. But wait, it gets better. After we said hello to Valentino, we continued our walk around the pasture. Another of my group is a runner, and to encourage him to come with us, she did an exaggerated slow-motion run. Much to our surprise, Valentino leaped a few times like a stereotypical bucking bronco and then RAN WITH HER along the fence! Was this a fluke? When we were ending our visit, I decided to try again. This time I did the exaggerated slow-motion run, and to our delight, Valentino repeated his response. He and I ran together for about twenty yards or so until we came upon a matronly cow who looked at both of us unapprovingly and then literally butted heads with Valentino. Valentino did win the race, but it wasn’t really fair - he has twice as many legs as I do.

Thus, a bond was formed on Saturday June 3 2017. Valentino is the fourth different Family of mammals with which I have run (that I know of), those being: human, canine, capreoline (it’s a deer, look it up!), and now bovine. With many more to come, I hope.

Until next time,

The Plant-Based Plodder

A Simple Progression Run

Another Bonus Post to end the week that contains National Global Running Day. Don’t get used to it. This is also my first training-specific post, so enjoy it.

What’s a Progression Run? That is a run where, instead of running at a steady pace the entire time, you progressively increase your speed at certain intervals during the run so you end up running faster at the end than when you started. Why do a Progression Run? Without going into physiological details, it will help your mind and body learn to run faster more comfortably.

Getting Started

You need some way of measuring your pace in real-time. Personally, I use a gps watch which I have set to mark a lap at each half mile. You could do this without a gps watch by running a known distance such as a track or neighborhood loop. In this case you need to run by the feel of the effort instead of by pace. But that’s ok.

The Plan

This is a really simple plan. Start running at a nice, slow, comfortable pace. The first lap could count as your warmup. When you finish your first lap, run a little faster for the next lap. It doesn’t really matter how much faster; even a 1-second-faster pace is “faster”. I like to make it at least 5-10 seconds faster to leave some wiggle room in case I lose concentration and accidentally slow down. When you finish the second lap, run a little faster than that for the next lap. Repeat. Repeat again. Run each lap a little faster than the previous lap. Leave room at the end for a final slow comfortable lap and then some cool-down walking. It’s important for a couple of reasons: 1) you need to cool down after a hard run – don’t just stop running! 2) Note how much faster your “slow comfortable” pace is at the end than it was at the beginning!

The reason I decided to post about Progression Runs today is because I did a Progression Run yesterday.

I used half-mile laps. I was running on flat local roads and sidewalks. Here are my lap paces, as an example:

9:16, 8:51, 8:45, 8:36, 8:30, 8:19, 8:10, 7:59, 7:25, 8:26 (then a half-lap walking at 15:53).

I haven’t done a Progression Run in a while, so my initial slow lap was a recalibration of sorts.  I started about 20 seconds slower than my marathon pace and my fastest lap was 5 seconds slower than my 5k pace.  For each successive lap, my pace increased by 25, 6, 9, 6, 11, 9, 11, and 34 seconds. Note how my ending slow comfortable pace was 50 seconds faster than my initial slow comfortable pace! Yet it really did feel just as slow and comfortable as my starting pace. That’s an example of one difference that being warmed up can make!

One final note of significance is my final mile averaging 7:42. This is significant because about ten years ago, my son wanted me to help him run a mile at a pace under 8:00 in order to earn a physical fitness award at school. He only had a few weeks to train. I was running regularly then, he was not. We did it (seven-fifty-something), but it was a very hard effort back then for me to run a mile at that speed. Now, I’m ten years OLDER, and I just ran the final mile of 4.5 at a pace faster than that. And it wasn’t a killer!

The moral of this story is that training works, even for geezers!

Now, get out there and try a Progression Run! Let me know how you did.

Until next time,
The Plant-Based Plodder

Global Running Day

Global Running Day

National Running Day

Normally I don’t post twice a week (“Normally? What is “normal”? Before this, I’ve posted exactly three times in the two-week history of this blog!) But today is a very special day. So you get an extra post this week. Happy Global Running Day!

Today, Wednesday June 7, 2017 is Global Running Day. Global Running Day is a day that celebrates the sport of running. It is held annually on the first Wednesday of June.[1] Participants of all ages and abilities pledge to take part in some type of running activity by submitting their names through the Global Running Day website, https://globalrunningday.org/.

This year is in fact the 2nd Annual Global Running Day. Before 2016, Global Running Day was known as National Running Day. Taking the name change into account, 2017 is the 9th annual National/Global Running Day.

Here are some fun running facts to celebrate Global Running Day:

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor! The following paragraphs simply describe my own personal experience with asthma. You can attempt to adopt such habits if you wish, but you do so at your own risk.

FACT #1
How many people enjoy warning you, “All that running is going to ruin your knees?” Or, maybe you have some of those sarcastic, self-righteous friends that tell you, “I want to run, but I actually like my knees.” Well, here’s a fun fact for you to tell them the next time you hear that annoying knee cliché: Running is actually GOOD for your knees!  In a report published about a year ago, an eight-year study of 2,637 participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative resulted in the opposite of what researchers expected, forcing them to conclude: “A history of leisure running is not associated with increased odds of prevalent knee pain, ROA (Radiographic evidence Of Arthritis), or SOA (Symptoms of Arthritis). In fact, for knee pain, there was a dose-dependent inverse association with runners.” This means that the people who ran more had less knee pain. Additionally, the participants who were still running had less knee pain than those who had quit running, who in turn had less pain than those who had never run. So I keep running to keep my knees healthy. (reference: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acr.22939/abstract)

FACT #2
I was “that kid” in elementary school who had a note from the doctor saying I couldn’t run and play at recess because I had asthma. Sadly, the treatments they had for asthma “back in the day” were not very effective at long-term control. Science has progressed a great deal. But sometime in the last 20 years when my allergist told me that my asthma was destined to become COPD as I got older, something clicked inside me. I said to myself, “Oh, no it won’t!” That reminds me of this billboard:

To make a long story short, that same allergist now tells me that my Peak Flow Test indicates that I have the lungs of a person 10-15 years younger than I actually am. (Or five inches taller than I actually am; Peak Flow norms are based on averages for your height and age. I'll take "younger").  So, I keep running in part to keep my lungs healthy.

FACT #3
Last story… Many years ago I went to the doctor to discuss my bloodwork. My cholesterol was close to 300, and the doctor reached for his prescription pad. I said “Wait! I want to try reducing it with diet and exercise.) At that point, my now ex-doctor literally rolled his eyes at me and told me that I had three months, but insisted it was not going to work. I was to come back in three months for a retest. Well, I went to visit My Friend the Internet and started doing some research. Then I started doing everything that was supposed to be good for lowering cholesterol, and I stopped doing everything that was supposed to be bad for cholesterol. Three months later, my number had dropped to 226. The doctor asked me “What the hell did you do?” I said “I’m not tellin’ ya” and I left, never to see him again. After a number of years as a vegan, that number is now right around the magic 200 mark. So, I keep running in part to keep my blood healthy.

BONUS FACT:
I find that stuff starts hurting when I am too sedentary. Running makes stuff stop hurting.

So, now it's time to get away from your computer and go out and run for Global Running Day. But first, visit https://globalrunningday.org/ and pledge your miles. THEN go run! Then come back here and comment how many miles you ran. If you’d like to tell us why YOU run, you can do that too.

Until next time,

The Plant-Based Plodder

Switching to Vegan

Switching to Vegan

I love running. When I’m not running, I love to talk about running. One problem is finding people who want to listen to me talk about running. You would think that I would be able to talk about running with my fellow runners, but they also want to talk about running, not listen. There’s a saying: “How can you tell if someone has run a marathon?” The answer? “Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.” Interestingly, the same can be said of vegans: “How can you tell if someone is vegan?” “Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.” Coincidence? I think not.

I am passionate about two things that people tend to get very passionate about. I was a runner first. A long story for another day is that I ran my first half marathon because of a broken leg (like I said, it’s a long story.) I trained hard, and for five years, continued to bring my time down. But that elusive 2:00:00 half-marathon barrier refused to be broken. I did make it to 2:00:45. Yes, that’s missing my goal by 45 seconds. But to me, that is still… missing.  I wondered what else I could do. I couldn’t possibly train any harder. That’s when I read an article in Runner’s World magazine about Scott Jurek. That article made reference to Scott’s memoir, Eat & Run, published in 2012. (SEE http://www.scottjurek.com/).

Scott is a vegan ultramarathoner. That means that 26.2188 miles is not far enough for him to run at one time, he feels driven to exceed that distance. And he is very good at it. He, too, was searching for more performance when he switched to a vegan lifestyle. A passionate advocate for vegetarianism, he follows a 100% plant-based diet, which he credits for his endurance, recovery and consistent twenty year racing career. In Eat & Run, Scott opens up about his life and career — as an elite athlete and a vegan — and inspires runners at every level.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a nutritionist! The following paragraphs simply describe my own personal experience with plant-based eating. You can attempt to adopt such a diet if you wish, but you do so at your own risk.

For me, I noticed a few changes. Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but if it works, I’ll take it. The first thing I noticed is that about ten pounds just fell off of me. I hadn’t changed any exercise habits yet, so I attribute this to cutting out the meat.

I also noticed that I could run sooner after eating; as a carnivore I had to wait at least two hours, now I could – pun intended – Eat and Run! (Seriously, I just now thought of that pun!) I also noticed that after a run, fewer body parts were hurting. It seems as though I now recover more quickly and am able to run longer distances more often. On the medical side, after a few years I eventually noticed that my hereditarily-high total cholesterol number finally came down to that magical limit of “200”.

After five years of trying, I did smash my half-marathon PR multiple times. The most recent smashing was a few weeks ago I set my latest HM PR of 1:47:24 at the Delaware marathon Running Festival. That came only three weeks after nabbing a new marathon PR of 3:57:15. I’m still looking for that elusive BQ, though. 3:40 seems so far away. Plan B is to hang in there until I turn 60 and my BQ time increases to 3:55.

Thanks for letting me talk about running.

Until next time,

The Plant-Based Plodder

Future Topics

Future Topics

To whet your appetite, here are a few topics I plan to blather on about in the near future (not necessarily in this order):

• Nutrition Stuff
• Beets
• Tart Cherry Juice
• Protein
• What I eat & drink before, during, and after a run
• Workout Stuff
• Strength Training
• Stretching before and after a run...DON'T!
• Speedwork:
• Strides
• Tempo
• Intervals
• SAS Your Core
• Training Stuff
• Variety in training
• Train for the course you'll be racing on
• Treadmill vs Road Running
• Sleep
• The Wind
• Random Stuff
• My broken legs - stress fractures and multiple fractures (not at the same time)
• A Pain in the Piriformis
• Did you really "gain muscle weight?"

Until next time,

The Plant-Based Plodder

My first post!

My first post!

Well, here we go, my first official blog post.

What’s with the name? Well, first of all, the first three or four really great blog names that I came up with were already used in some way. “OBG Running” (Oldie-But-a—Goodie). “Vegan Velocity.” “MOVEgan.” So, here I am as my alter-ego, the Plant-Based Plodder.

Why “Plant-Based?” I’ve not eaten any meat or animal products for quite some time now. Long enough that when people ask, it’s hard to remember. It was a process; eggs and cheese were the last thing to go. But the term “vegan” has a negative vibe to many people. To some, vegans are frail, tattooed, long-haired hippies who live in a commune growing their own vegetables (when they’re not chasing whaling ships with GreenPeace). Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not my thing. Also – I must confess – I still have some leather shoes, because I haven’t worn them out yet. So I am going with “plant-based”. It’s the modern, socially-acceptable term.

Why “plodder?” Fact: I love to run! I love everything about it. I love running on a beautiful spring day. I love running in the cool autumn breeze. I love running in the heat of summer. I love running in a winter blizzard. Well, I don’t really “love” that last one, but I would go out to run in the winter cold – even if it’s snowing – before I would stay inside on a treadmill. (You just gotta have the right equipment!) I love sprinting. I love the endurance challenge of running marathons. I love running so much that I took an RRCA Coach’s certification course last year. Still, why “plodder?”

verb (used without object), plodded, plodding.
1.   to walk heavily or move laboriously; trudge:
to plod under the weight of a burden.
2.   to proceed in a tediously slow manner:
The play just plodded along in the second act.
3.   to work with constant and monotonous perseverance; drudge.

That’s the dictionary definition. It doesn't sound like fun. And none of that would seem appropriate for someone who loves running as much as I do. Well, I’m “slow.” It’s all relative, really – I am slower than some and faster than others. I guess if you count every single person that runs, I’m faster than about 75% of them. Perhaps I’m a little better than that if you compare me only to people my own age. But to be realistic, I’m not going to be winning any local road races, unless there is a brand new race in town that very few people have heard about. Another problem: people my age who are still running are pretty darn good at it!

So, there you have it. The “Plant-Based Plodder” I am. Let me tell you, though, I am really happy about both parts of that phrase. I’m happy to be living a plant-based lifestyle. I don’t feel deprived in the least, and no, I really, truly don’t miss eating steak or bacon. And, before you ask The Question That Must Be Asked of Every Vegan (that would be, “Where do you get your protein?”), I have a two-part answer: 1) Protein is way over-hyped in the modern American society; 2) LOTS of veggies have protein! Every grain is a seed, and all seeds, nuts, beans, etc. have tons of protein. Even broccoli and spinach have a good part of their calories coming from protein. Seriously… I’m 54 years old, and every race I’ve run in the past year has resulted in a PR – a few 5Ks, a few 10ks, two half-marathons and one full marathon. At my age, my performance is supposed to be declining, not improving. I think my protein intake is just fine, thank you very much.

So there’s my intro. I think it’s time to wrap up this first post so you don’t lose interest, and still have a reason to come back. I’ll end with a bit about “why this blog, why now?” I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while now. When a coworker learned last year that I was vegan, he was so surprised! He told me that if I wrote a blog, I would collect a following. So what recently pushed me over the edge to take that leap of faith into bloggerdom?

I ran a local half marathon two weeks ago. That was the ninth time in a row I ran that race. The thing that was different was that after finishing I went out to about the seven-mile point of this two-lap marathon course (I only ran the HALF, stay with me here) and helped staff a water station with other members of my running club. So there I am shouting “Water! Gatorade!” to strangers who are about 20 miles into a marathon after about 4 hours. I was impressed by the number of people I saw who could really use some advice. For example:

·         No, really, take the water! You need it!

·         The race started cloudy in the 40’s but the sun is out and it’s in the 70’s now – you can take off the garbage bag (Remember this is about mile 20 of a marathon, after four hours.)

·         No, turn right, TURN RIGHT! Go the way those arrows on those signs are pointing instead of trying to squeeze between those traffic barrels.

·         Cotton is NOT your friend during a marathon!

·         Dude, I can SEE your thigh muscles cramping up, are you sure you want to keep going?

·         Other Dude, wait, you’re actually JUGGLING – with 5 balls - while running a marathon? “I’m not worthy!”

Don’t get me wrong – I am not in any way criticizing people who are taking more than 5 hours to complete a marathon. In fact, I am totally impressed that they are out there “gittin’ ‘er done.” They have my utmost I have a 4:45:00 marathon in my own record books. I think doing it slower is HARDER than doing it faster. It’s my own personal opinion that the FIVE HOURS gets to you more than the 26.2188 miles does. That’s one reason I’ve been training to get generally faster since running my first marathon. I’ve been there. I know. The thing is, many of these people looked like they were ENDURING the race rather than enjoying the experience. I just ran my third marathon a month ago, and totally enjoyed it! That was not the case with the last six miles of each of the first two marathons!  I am also an RRCA Certified Running Coach. And I love giving advice. Especially when I can back it up with my own empirical evidence.

Look for lots of advice in future blogs. Also, I am always reading and Googling, looking for new research and other facts, ready to try new things to see what works. I’ll let you know!

Until next time,

The Plant-Based Plodder