Learn | Make | Fix | Run

In response to last week’s post, “ Are Podcasts Slowing Me Down or Do I Just Need the Rest? ”, I ran two easy runs without a podcast or music and a long run with music. In my very unscientific experiment, I found my average heart rate closer to the Z2/Z3 border in all three runs. However, I question if the higher heart rate is related to not listening to a podcast. Most likely, my body was less tired this week. I was consciously trying to run with a higher heart rate. A better experiment would be listening to a podcast on a long run when trying to run a higher heart rate. I am out of long runs during this training block, so I will need to look at this again in the future. It's marathon prep week. I’ve been trying to figure out all the logistics for the 6:00 a.m. start. I am supposed to report to the shuttle area at 3:30 a.m. That leaves a lot of time before the race. My long run breakfast routine is a cup of coffee and a buttered bagel about 45 minut...

I have two running experiences to share with you today. Both lessons are mind-numbingly easy to understand. I am sharing my tale hoping no one follows in my footsteps. Apparently, I don’t know how to put shoes on, and I don’t listen to my body. I have a routine when I put on my running shoes. I sit down, widen the top of the shoe, carefully insert my foot, draw in the slack from the runner’s knot loops, tie my shoelaces with a double knot, and check to ensure they aren’t too tight or loose. On Tuesday, for some unknown reason, I hastily jammed my feet in my shoes, went outside, put one foot on top of the front tire of my car, and tied my shoe. I did the same with the other shoe and went on my way. The run was a four-mile recovery run. The shoes and my feet felt fine during the run. However, I felt pain on the top of my left foot near my big toe when I completed my post-run core exercises. The next day I followed my typical shoe routine, my foot felt a little sore to walk on, so I teste...

This week I realized I am having a problem sticking with the spirit of the run and remembering what my new marathon race pace should be. I’m always learning from my runs and believe I am missing the point of getting a feel for my marathon pace by emphasizing hitting my marathon pace goal each split. After the Oakland half marathon, I thought my marathon pace should be 9:25/mile. Somehow, I forgot that and decided to run last week’s six-mile marathon pace run at 9:20/mile. I struggled with pacing and was so concerned about hitting 9:20 miles I ran each split faster than 9:20/mile. I know my marathon pace should be the average for the entire run and not each split; however, I have difficulty executing this practice while running. 9:20/mile felt quick but sustainable for 26.2 miles, and, in hindsight, 9:25/mile would have felt even better. However, I was so concerned about running 9:20 miles I was running faster than I should have. 9:16/mile and 9:14/mile uphill on the return trip were...

One issue with training and low heart rate training, in particular, is the delayed gratification in seeing improvements. I have been working hard for the last eleven weeks and am starting to see results. My advice (provided you have your healthcare provider’s approval) is to keep showing up. I hope my journey gives you some inspiration. For those who don’t know, I am not the fastest runner; I am not an expert or a coach. I never liked running in junior high school and high school. I did not run in college. I dabbled in running from 2006 until 2017. I like to say I was a yo-yo runner, similar to a yo-yo dieter; sometimes I ran, and sometimes I didn’t. Fast forwarding to the Summer of 2019, I decided to start running again, and I completed the Couch to 5K plan for the third time. Something kept me going this time. Then the pandemic hit; my running routine finally became a permanent fixture in my life. I’ve made all the beginner mistakes and still make mistakes with my training. I can sha...

Determining my race pace is tremendously difficult for me. When I cross the finish line, I don’t want to have gas in the tank or blow up before the finish line. I know banking time is a bad idea; utilizing even effort or negative splits is better. I watched a YouTube video from GTN over the weekend and had an epiphany that I was looking at pace from the wrong angle. When I picked a pace, I took the total minutes to complete the race and divided it by the race distance. Sometimes I would add an extra tenth of a mile to the race distance to account for deviating from the measured path, but I didn’t include any other buffers. The GTN video was focused on completing a sub-4:00 marathon. They included an eight-minute buffer and used the pace for a 3:52 marathon as the suggested pace for a sub-4:00 marathon attempt. This methodology blew my mind. At the same time, it helped me connect the dots in the Run with Hal training plan I was using. From my perspective, Run with Hal gave me two differ...

It is very difficult for me to know the difference between paces. Thankfully, the majority of my runs are completed at an easy pace, and my heart rate determines my pace. However, hill repeats, intervals, tempo runs, and marathon pace runs require different paces. My GPS watch displays pace, but I find it to be laggy. It feels like it takes an eighth of a mile for the watch to adjust to a pace change. My solution is to use tenth-mile splits. For quarter-mile intervals, I use twentieth-mile (0.05 mile) splits. In the picture above, you see the notes I make myself to help me with my splits. I put the time intervals in my watch as a workout. The 25 minute tempo workout consisted of: 10 minute warmup at 11:35/mile 5 minutes running at 9:35/mile 5 minutes running at 9:00/mile 5 minutes running at 9:20/mile 5 minutes running at 9:00/mile 5 minutes running at 9:35/mile 5 minute cool down at 11:35/mile. Since my paces are all close to ten minute per mile pace, I use the difference between a te...

Marathon training teaches “you can do hard things”. I was reminded of this lesson during my 16-mile long run last week. I was six miles from the house and needed to go out another two miles for my out-and-back route. I could have turned around at that point. I could have turned around at the five-mile mark when the drizzle started, but I kept going. While the weather wasn’t pleasant, it was not unbearable. It served as a reminder that I can do difficult things. Running 26.2 miles is not easy, and this short period in the rain was preparation for the big race. Another memory came back as I was running. The trail had wide-open views of the horizon. As I ran my fourth mile, I could see the dark rain cloud rolling closer to me. It brought me back to the days on vacation as a youth on a lake. We would be out fishing; sometimes, you could see inclement weather move in. This past week I have spent a lot of time checking the weather apps on my phone to predict the perfect time to run. After se...

Last week I needed to complete a base run, and the weather was not cooperating with my schedule. I headed out into the cold, windy night with a long-sleeved pullover, shorts, a baseball cap, and a headlamp. My GPS watch was set to alert me if my heart rate was over 143 beats per minute and was under my sleeve. Because of the cold, I used the thumb holes in my cuffs. The cold, windy, rainy weather made it uncomfortable to push my sleeve up. In the first half mile of my run and after a quick pace and heart rate check, I realized I would need to run by feel. It took three miles before I triggered my first heart rate alert. The wind and the rain picked up during the fifth and sixth miles. Before I knew it, I completed the last mile of the run. Over the last 39 days, I learned I can dial in the effort needed to stay in zone 2 and not look at my watch. Even though I run with the heart rate alerts turned on, I probably subconsciously look at my pace too much, which causes me to speed up and a...

I found a way to make my low heart rate runs more manageable. Initially, I manually watched my heart rate on my Garmin Forerunner 620. I would run and look at my watch, then continue to run and look. Inevitably there would be a period when I did not look at my watch, and suddenly my heart rate was well into zone 3. This constant looking up and down and remembering to monitor my heart rate was taking a toll. Finally, it dawned on me to use the built-in heart rate alert on my GPS watch. At first, I set the high alert to 144 beats per minute (BPM), the upper limit of my zone 2. I quickly learned that by using the upper limit, my heart rate would drift to 145 BPM before sounding the alarm. Adjusting my heart rate to 143 (one less than the maximum heart rate for the range) did the trick. Since then, I have started using my heart rate alerts for my zone 1 recovery runs. My watch has a low heart rate alert as well. I have not used it yet, but I am thinking about it. Sometimes while deep in th...

This week I passed some milestones in training for the marathon in May. On Thursday, I completed my 25th day of training which means I was 100 days out from the race and 20% complete. Sunday’s recovery run marked the fourth completed week of training. The week started with a three-mile recovery run. I am falling into the groove of these slow runs and starting to get closer to the prescribed 13:11 min/mile pace. My first recovery run of the training cycle, on January 16, was completed at an 11:03 pace. Tuesday’s pace was 12:49. I never thought I could run that slow (from the beginning of a run), but by staying in Z1 and breathing through the nose, I am slowing down the pace of my recovery runs and reaping the benefits. Wednesday’s speed workout was hill repeats. I don’t know why I avoided the Hal Higdon plans with hill repeats in the past. They have been a good addition and allow me to get run fast during the week. Thursday’s six-mile base run in Z2 was another consistent effort to add ...

Week 3. Stick with the spirit of the plan. In last week’s post, I addressed following the spirit of the plan rather than the exact numbers. I advocated permitting oneself to be slower than the listed paces if the run was supposed to be easy. I referenced the adage of keeping the “easy days” easy and the “hard days” hard. This week, I realized I may have taken the “hard days, hard” a little too far and did not account for the spirit of the plan. On Friday, a 6-mile marathon pace run was on the schedule. I like these days in my plan because it allows me to run faster and doesn’t constrain me to heart rate zone 2 (Z2). The idea of running some training runs at my marathon pace makes sense. Unfortunately, it felt too good to run fast. The suggested pace was 9:45/mile, with a range of 9:20-10:10/mile. My first three miles were 9:27, 9:26, and 9:20. My fourth mile, which was uphill and I might have been a little gassed from my 9:20 split, was 10:00. I followed it with 9:41 and 9:34 miles. Af...

Week 2 in the books. The plan is merely a guide. This week has been a great week of running. The Hal Higdon Advanced Marathon 1 plan prescribed about 30 miles this week. There were two three-mile recovery runs, two five-mile base runs, a 15-minute tempo, and an 11-mile long run. When I started the Run with Hal program, I entered that my easy pace was 10:30/mile and my marathon goal time was 4:30. From there, it did the calculations for all my runs, and they are a great guide. From what I have seen about low heart rate training and what I heard on multiple YouTube running videos is to keep your easy days easy and your hard days hard. Taking that into account and the purpose of each run, I have developed a decision tree for when I want to hit the prescribed paces and when I want to stay in heart rate zone 2. For my recovery runs, I plan to stay in Z1. For the base runs, I plan to stay in Z2. For the warmup and cool downs of the hill repeats, tempo runs, and interval workouts, I plan to s...

Week 1 of Marathon Training in the Books I’m training for the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon on May 21, 2023. I am using the Hal Higdon Advanced 1 Marathon Training plan, which started on January 16. I plan to give a weekly update and share what I have learned. The marathon plan started on Monday with a recovery run; however, my lesson from this week comes from the base training I did the two weeks prior. Because of the rain, I was wearing my oldest pair of shoes. I knew I was running on borrowed time, but the shoes still felt good. I figured getting the old pair wet rather than a newer one was better. I ran on Tuesday, January 10 and felt good in the shoes. The following day, the shoes turned into torture devices halfway through the run. The cushioning appeared to disappear, and my heels started to hurt immensely. On Monday’s recovery run, I had my epiphany. It wasn’t worth trying to get extra miles on my shoes. I track my shoes, and typically I can get at least 400 miles per pair. I look...