Running and Strength Training

I'm beginning to realize that as much as I love running and cardio, I' would really benefit from more strength training. I used to get a lot of body weight training in ballet, but now I'm pretty much all cardio all the time. This will change somewhat as Luke and I have purchased a year-long membership to our local climbing gym, but I could honestly use strength training to also improve my climbing. In college I lifted 2 days a week and was quite strong with the muscles to prove it. I still have a pretty good musculature, but I've lost a lot of strength.

My weight training goals:
-improve upper body strength - biceps, triceps, shoulders, pecs, and upper back - to support arms and rock climbing

-improve core - abs, lats, back, gluts - for stability and strength in all sports, and as a preventative measure for my back as I age.

-strengthen lower body - hams, hips/gluts, quads, calf work only through ballet training) - this is mainly to prevent knee and hip injuries as well as improve efficiency in movement

I read a whole lot on Runner's World and decided that their core workouts looked interesting, but most of their strength training was sort of boring and static. I want something that uses dynamic movements to work a variety of muscles at the same time.

I decided to start with these exercises on Friday night: http://www.womens-running.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-275-559-13652-0,00.html

They're good all around stability/strength work outs, although I'm not used to working out and hot getting my heart pumping.

I added in some other squats and upper body work that I like. While at the gym, I spent a lot of time looking at what other people were doing. I've added and exercise in which you stand in 2nd position (legs apart, hips externally rotated), squat to 90 degrees, rotate one knee  into the body, and externally rotate it back to the squating position using the external rotators, return to standing. Repeat.

I'm also doing ball-core work that my friend Amanda taught me and 3 years later still kicks my ass.

I was sore, but in a good way. I'm going to aim to incorporate at least 3-4 exercises (3 sets of 10 reps) following all of my short runs, with a full body day on Fridays.

Today I did a 4.5 mile run and then the hamstring curls, lunges, the "rotating" squats, and abs.

Music for a 1/2?

I'm trying to decide what to put in my ipod for the race.
As it is, I generally listen to one 45 min pod cast, and then put my "race music" on shuffle for the second part of the run. Keeps me interested.

However, I run faster and more steadily when i listen to music as opposed to listening to podcasts. If  I go with music the whole way, do I take the time to make a playlist (and download more music for the race) and try to time my songs with where I'll be (and what motivation I'll need) in my run? Or do I just throw a bunch of stuff in a play list and happily let it shuffle away?

Here's who I know will be with me:

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance, Beautify Dirty Rich, Boys Boys Boys, The Fame (Album Mixtape), Just Dance extended remix, shake Ure Kitty, Summerboy, Teeth, Vanity, Sheisse, Money Honey, Highway Unicorn, Hair, Bad Kids, Americano. And I think I need to set Edge of Glory to start playing when i hit my last mile...

P!nk - Raise your gllass, U and UR Hand, CenterfoldI need to add more P!nk

Matthew Sweet- Ultrasuede

Rhianna - Only Girl, S&M, Breakin' Dishes, Disturbia, Do't Stop the Music, Shut up & Drive, Umbrella, boom boom, and my fav: Pon de Replay

Robyn- TBD. I started running w/ her a few months ago but now find myself skipping her tracks when they come up. Same with Katy Perry.

Ke$ha - Yes I'm ashamed, but damn if she isn't katchy

Black Eyed Peas - Party all th eTime, One Tribe, boom Boom Pow, Now Generation, Simple Little Melody, Rockin to Beat, in fact most the album off The End. Silly, yes. Easy to run to, hell yes.

Edna's Goldfish and some Reel Big Fish - cause SKA makes me happy

Ozomotli - Ya Se Fue has got me through more runs than I can count, Lo Que Dice, Mi Alma, Coming War, Cumbia, Donde Se fueron, Oh Le E, Party People, Mi Gente. They'll totally on the list

Jurassic 5 - (can you tell I went to college in LA in the late 90s?) Still have to make my choices off these guys. Too many good songs.

Same for Flogging Molly  - but I Rebels of the Sacred Heart, Tobacco, Drunken Lullabies, Seven Deadly Sins will all be along for the ride

Janelle Monae - If you don't know her, you must watch the videos for Tightrope and Cold War. She'll be in my ears.

I'll have some Beyonce (Single Ladies - I have issues wit hthe song but it's great for running), and I think I'm actually going ot download Britney Spears "Til the World Ends" 'cause damn if it isn't catchy.

Any other suggestions? Clearly I like Female popular dance oriented music, ska, and 90s underground hiphop with a good dance beat.

Last Long Run

Finished 9 miles this morning and now I begin tapering. The run went well and I feel good looking at November 6. I'm getting faster in my running intervals. I also took a cue from Runner's world and tried pumping my arms to pick up my pace when I start flagging. Lo and behold, it worked! I felt like a flapping bird, but it's much easier to pump my arms faster than try to convince my legs to run faster.

I took a gel at 50 min and it made a big difference in my post-10K slump. I still got "lead butt", but it only lasted a few min instead of a few miles. I definitely need to take nutrition in 45 min intervals. I also had a return of the back of the knee hamstring cramp. Still not sure what to do about it. I'm thinking of taking a gel and 3 sodium cliff blocks. I'll take a gel at 45 min w/ the idea that if I need another one after 1.5 hours I can grab one off the 8 mile water stop (yes, I checked, they're going to have espresso gu and I can take that w/o any problems). The sodium infused cliff blocks will be popped in one at a time around mile 7-8 to see if I can starve off the cramping. Or, I'll take the 2 gels I know I like and maybe crush up a nuun tablet to drop in my water so that I can get electrolytes and sodium and help w/ the cramping.

I love how strong I feel in my 1/2 marathon training. I've stuck to it and I'm really proud of myself. I need to do more speedwork, but travel got in the way. I think I'm going to stick to making Luke run fartleks with me for the time being. He makes me run much faster than I "normally" do, and it's good to have the motivation.

Quads

So far I've been really happy with some of the changes I've made in my running stride. The smaller, quicker steps definitely help me up the pace w/ less exertion. However, I haven't listened to any advice I've given to others over the years, which is: Go slow with changes. My new stride uses different leg muscles (mainly quads) and I'm really feeling them after my 12 mile run. I went out and did 4.5 or so miles yesterday and my thighs felt like they were on fire. I wasn't even going very fast! Interestingly, to me, when I tried to switch back to my "old stride" to give my thighs a break, my right side stitches roared into being. As soon as I switched to my "new stride", the side pains were gone.

I'm doing a lot of stretching and trying to get my legs to loosen a bit. I have a groupon for a 90 min massage, but the masseuse is out of town for the next week or so. I think today will be a walking day in order to give my legs a break. I'll definitely recover from this in a few days, but I want to take it easy and I'm glad I'm in my tapering period.

12 miles!

This morning was my last long training run before tapering for my race! I decided to run at "race time" in order to get used to running at the ungodly hour of 7am. It actually wasn't so bad and I think I'm going to keep running at this time for the next 2 weeks.

The deets:
Food: Ate a banana w/ some almond butter before leaving. Really started to get heavy legs, cramping around mile 6 so went with a Gu (espresso). Learned I prefer Hammer Gel to Gu, mainly for taste. Around mile 10 I started getting heavy legs and some fatigue. I really feel a boost from the gels, but 2 over the course of a race seems excessive. I have a 9 mile run next week and will experiment w/ gel at one point and either a cliff block when I start to get tired, or putting an electrolyte drink/tab (nuun) in my water bottle. I'd really prefer not to have to carry a water bottle for the race, but if some electrolytes in the water help, I'll do it.

The running: I've settled well into a walk/run pattern suggested by friends, and 1st time marathoners, Mira and Andy. I run 10 min and walk for 1 min. Simple, and works well. I run faster in the run segments and the walk breaks change up my pace and stride length enough to help reduce or eliminate side stitches and keep leg cramps at bay. For the race I'm expecting to stick to my walk run plan until I get through mile 7 or 8. If I'm feeling good and want to pick up the speed or reduce the walks, I'll do it. But I"m aiming for conservation early in the game.

I did a mix of my faux-chi running I tried last week and some of my "normal" stride running. The chi-running position is strange for my upper body and back, but great for my lower body. It's amazing how much "easier" running is. I still got some IT funkiness on the left side around mile 9, but alternating my stride patterns every so often helped it turn from funkiness into pain or problems. Otherwise, no back of the knee cramping AT ALL!

As usual, I got tired around the 6 mil/10K mark, then the gel picked me up, I got fatigued around mile 10, but was able to keep, and even pick up my pace, through miles 11.5 As with all my long runs, i get really tired on that last 1/2 mile when I add distance, but that's to be expected.

I'm really proud of how fast and confidently I did this run. My average pace was 9min 54 sec. I'd really like to run my 1/2 w/ a 10 min/mile pace. Of course, I'll happily take a faster run, but I have also had races go bad (cramping and the like) and don't want to set my sights too high only to have cramping really drag me down.

In Ears:
I've become a huge fan of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. The PCHH gang is funny and make the first 50 min go by like a breeze. Unfortunately, I run slower when I listen to podcasts and all the laughing makes me stumble. Post, PCHH I had a mix of Lady Gaga, Rhianna, P!nk, Ke$ha (yes, Ke$sha), Black Eyed Peas, and Matthew Sweet. I find a really prefer to run to female pop/dance vocalists. The beat keeps me going and the songs make the time pass.

I'm debating what to do for the race: my standard PCHH podcast with my Race Playlist randomized? Or all music? Or PCHH with a set playlist that is designed to encourage and motivate me w/ specific songs for specific miles?

Clothing:
Running cap (Brooks), sunglasses, Addidas socks, newer Brooks Cascadia 6s, Road Runner Sports running T, Moving Comfort Fiona Bra, and Mojito SportSkirts.

I'm debating what to wear for the race - do I bother with a hat? T-shirt (no chafing) or Tank (a b-day gift from mom, or the race T-shirt (matches my skirt but not a flattering cut over all :) ). You know, all the stuff that really matters.

Chi Running: take 1

On the whole, I haven't been too impressed with the mid-foot strike and minimalist running stuff. It's not that I'm opposed to shoes, I dance barefoot and absolutely agree that the barefoot footwork is what has strengthened and saved my rather flat feet from all sorts of ailments. But I actually hate running barefoot and hate stepping on things. I like the grippy and stability of a shoe when running. I also think I'm one of the few people who was really turned off by Born to Run. Interesting premise, basis a whole lot of the argument on anecdotal "evidence" and "historical" and quasi-Orientalist/ "Noble Savage" generalizations that really pissed me off. It reminded me too much of the "old way of eating" diets that some people espouse. You know, "back in the day before processed and preserved food." Now I'm all about non-processed foods, that's pretty much all I eat. But be aware that most Europeans "back in the day" survived on porridge, boiled grains with some milk or blood, beer, and more boiled grains. Little meat, only fresh produce at certian times of th eyear and even that was avoided. As a historian, I really bristle at the notion that we have to "get back" to the "good old days" because most people who espouse the "way things were" don't actually have any idea as to how things actually were for the majority of folk. Right, so I was NOT a Born to Run convert. It works for some people, fine.

 So I haven't paid much attention to things like Chi or PASS (PACE?) running techniques. Until one of my favorite bloggers, who is not a runner but is training for her first marathon, blogged this: http://dooce.com/2011/10/11/working-gravity . And because Heather is my hero, a pragmatic, totally psycho OCD, hero, I decided to at least look into Chi Running.

The idea behind Chi running is biomechanical: a long front stride actually uses the foot to break momentum as the body transfers weight over the front leg. I've been working on lengthening my stride w/ hopes of getting faster. What I've discovered is that the longer stride means my front foot is further out in front of me, contacts with the ground, and then pulls me forward while my back foot is simultaneously pushing me forward. Every time the front foot pulls, it puts strain on my quads, knees, and hamstrings. The constant pulling motion of my front foot strike was causing a good amount of stress, pain, and fatigue on my legs. As I remarked yesterday, this became and issue in my last long run. And, I'm not getting that much faster without working a whole lot harder.

I decided to try the Chi running technique (watched some videos and did some reading) to see if it really did make running easier and pain free. Holy shit, it actually worked. I started out on a 5 mile run and effortlessly (for my body, not my breathing) was running near 8 min miles in no time. I even had a couple of segments at sub-8 minute miles. More importantly, no pain. No cramping. No ball of lactic acid behind my knees that made extending them hurt like a mofo. No IT band issues. No calf issues. Nada, zip, zilch. AND running faster. I think I'm a convert.

Now, this does take some adjustment. After about .75-1 mile my quads started saying "whoa, you are using muscles you're not used to using, take a break." So I did. But after 30 seconds, was right back up to kicking ass speed. The other thing that has to be readjusted is my breathing. In this running style you take a many more steps that are smaller and faster in comparison to traditional running strides - which means my inhale 3 strides, exhale 3 strides is no longer going to work. In fact, my feet were moving so fast I couldnt figure out how to breath to keep up. I got a little pain in the right shoulder (common when I'm going to start getting mad right side stitches), so I had to slow down for those. Basically, my body could move so much faster, so much more comfortably than my breathing could keep pace with. It's going to take a while to figure out the breathing, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

How about you? Have you tried Chi running or other mid-foot strike running?

Wild Running Update

Since I last posted I've run in Tahoe, Coronado, Victoria, BC, and now New Orleans. Needless to say I've been busy.

I've managed to keep up with at least 2 maintenance runs, cross training (walks, hiking) and one long run a week, but the speed work has been getting the shrift.

 My 10 miles in Victoria was slow, but easy and very comfortable. Monday I completed 11 miles in an average time of 10:04/min miles. I ran/walked and my running segments were about a 9:30 sec pace for 10 min and then walk for 1. My knees were feeling funky and I"m sore after a run for the first time ever. I ran in the late evening so I slammed a vanilla gu pre-run and an espresso-gu mid run. I like the Hammer gel much better (less sugary). I think I ran too fast at some points and need to stretch more.

I'm learning a lot, and learning to love, the long runs. I'm also thrilled that my shorter runs are getting faster now that the temps are dropping. And I consistently run faster outside than on a TM. How's that for conventional wisdom.

Here's where I'm having problems :
1. Some IT band funkiness (yes I need a roller, I've been using a tennis ball)
2. lactic acid build up/knots in my legs. I get these tight painful knots behind my left knee and in other random parts of my legs, mainly the hamstrings. It feels like the muscle is knotted and contracted and can't open or stretch. I can generally massage it out, but it's consistent enough for me to know that there is something up.

Maybe not enough sodium?

I'm back on a semi-normal running schedule this week. Did 11 miles on Monday, XT Tuesday, walk today, run Th and Fri, long hike on Sat, hopefully time for a quick run on Sunday.

Next Monday is my last long run- 12 miles! - before tapering.