Myth America

As the holiday season nears its end, I have no doubt whatsoever the track facility where I train will be filled with well-meaning persons trying to undo the damage inflicted upon their bodies since the end of October. I hold out hope (however fleeting) they will keep at it long enough to develop a healthy habit of daily (or near-daily) exercise.
I'm not certain what is more frightening, the pile of fitness, health and dietary myths printed on a regular basis in the public media...or those that are not only printed in the media, but repeated by medical professionals...with no scientific evidence whatsoever.
The British Medical Journal traditionally carries light-hearted features in its Christmas edition. Two U.S. researchers took seven common beliefs and searched for evidence to support them.
Despite frequent mentions in the popular press of the need to drink eight glasses of water (in fact, repeated on the health section of Yahoo!), they found no scientific basis. The lack of evidence is recorded in a study published in the American Journal of Psychology.
So, let's take a look at the other six "myths" (and my editorial commentary):
1 - Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight - unlikely to do permanent damage, but may make you squint, blink more and have trouble focusing. (If you're reading Runner's World, some of the articles will make more sense.)
2 - Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser - no effect on thickness or hair regrowth, but stubble gives the impression of coarseness. (So if I let my mustache, beard and head and leg hair grow long, I can slick it down for aerodynamic effect. What do you think, dear?)
3 - Eating turkey makes you drowsy - tryptophan is involved in sleep and mood control, but turkey has no more than chicken or beef. Eating lots are probably the real cause of sleepiness. (Not to mention slowness and fatness.)
4 - We use only 10 percent of our brains - imaging shows no area of the brain is completely inactive. (The jury is still out on the effects of skull thickness.)
5 - Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death - the skin dries and retracts after death, giving the appearance of longer hair or nails. (Hm...there's an untapped market for manicurists...)
6 - Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals - studies found minimal interference with medical equipment. (People using mobile phones in public, not only hospitals, are more a pain in the @$$ than anything else. Mobile phones are still dangerous in airliners and while driving on the roadways, however.)
So, go ahead and use that cell phone (quietly) in the hospital, back off your dietary intake a skosh if you're feeling sleepy, and drink when you're thirsty. If you're one of those persons who believes all the stuff you read in the newspapers, stop, already. Always, but always go to the source documents. And don't believe everything your physician says, especially when they tell you that running is bad for the knees. :)

Simple, Simple, Simple...

I'm back in the office after a week away...all right, I did come in once to check the e-mail. However, as quiet and uneventful as it seems things will be this week, I could have stayed home and limped about there instead of in here. Hey, you never know.

Christmas around Chez Bowen was simple and relatively unadorned. Rubin received a boatload of treats from well-meaning friends; most of them rawhides processed in China. It was with a great deal of regret we tossed them into the wastecan. However, he got some more stuffies from "Dad;" I wasn't certain whether he was going to play with them (Suzanne was waxing biblical, talking about putting away childish things), when, lo and behold, he heard the squeak of one and took it to the floor. Okay, so he wasn't wagging his tail to beat the band like in years past...
Practical was the operating word for our gifts to each other. I got Suzanne a massage/heat pad; she got me skivvies, a movie and fruitcake - I must be the only guy on the planet who really likes the stuff, in spite of it breaking one of my teeth a year ago. For us, the trip to Jacksonville was Christmas. Well, she got the presents; I got the coal. Time with good friends and more coffee in a weekend than most guys put down in a year...works for me.
We had to get the check in the box. I was in no mood to run (I'll get some time/mileage in tonight, but it was Florida miserable out there), but felt the compulsion to do something, so I walked for about four miles...Suzanne ran and walked while I just walked and pondered the mysteries of the universe and all those other things young coaches do when there's nothing fun to do. We got hungry about 1:00 in the afternoon, and I really didn't want to go to the Chinese joint again for lunch...so we did a little driving to see who was open. Just so happens that one sports bar downtown was; playing some football re-broadcasts since there was only the basketball games going down. Let me tell you, there's nothing like a Guinness and a big cheesesteak sandwich, especially on Christmas. Hits the spot every time.
Playing with the dog, and the computer, and checking the e-mail started to get very old. First we thought about hitting a movie, then decided to sit in and watch videos. Suzanne went to the Chinese carry out, grabbed a six of Guinness, then came back to stir-fry after calling our friend Laura to invite her over...the first reaction would be to say misery loves company, but we all were just keeping it simple. I heard lots about the movie Dogma from friends who recommended the Showtime series Weeds, but wow... Screaming hilarious. A great mix of comedy and thriller. I'm afraid I'll have to check that one out again for commentary material.
Who would ever thought of casting Alanis Morissette as God?
Now, I'm ready to get back to training. See you on the roads.

Popsicle Toes

Beverly Fair (teammate, friend, wife of my swim coach/business partner) and "Mrs. Coach" engaging in some holiday cheer last Friday evening.
I cannot put a finger on the exact thing which puts persons (like me) in a mood during this time of the year. But I do have a few ideas:

First, unless you have access to a pool, treadmill, stationary bicycle or elliptical trainer, as well as all of the other training modalities that make life better (like saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs...) you are at the mercy of the operating hours of those who do. It sometimes means having to make do or considering it, as I sometimes call it: God's way of saying, 'take a day off.'
Second, and this only counts if you live in an area of the country where there is no snow, or there's not enough to engage in recreational activity...and don't have the arsenal of cold weather gear to go jog, bicycle or walk, you risk freezing your behind off. Of course we know that going out in the cold does not lead directly to illnesses (indirectly, however, through fatigue and susceptibility to infection). But, hypothermia can be scary, none the less.
Third, especially between mid-December and mid-January, there's not a lot of daylight going on. On top of that, most drivers are not paying attention to anything less in size than an SUV...especially if you are within two blocks of any store, shopping mall, or place where sedentary America might go to do business.

Okay, enough complaining. While my toes are a little on the chilly side today (it's 39 degrees here at 9 a.m.) i's probably the best I've felt since the marathon weekend. I had the first opportunity to go out for an extended ride - 60 miles - on my race bike. We had wonderful, bright sunlight and fairly cool temperatures, but wind conditions I had experienced only once before. I recall a 50-mile ride about ten years ago; overcast conditions, cool, with a wind that was in my face the entire way. I have no idea how such a thing could happen then, nor how it did yesterday, but it was wonderful once I got my @$$ off the saddle three and-a-half hours later.
The nicest thing of all? The pain I had in my calf muscles finally is gone. So now I can smile about it and get on with my Christmas.

Transition Period Blues

I saw this photo the other evening on the Brightroom photography site. It caused me to recall a copy of Running Times published just before the Olympic Marathon Trials. I loved the industrial look of the cover photo; the sparks, the darkness, the (as my father would describe it) "bad-ass in three easy lessons" look on Brian Sell's face. The (seemingly inappropriate) use of eyewear to protect the eyes was cool, too. Now if I could only kick @$$ in the marathon like Brian Sell. Check the cover and see if there is any resemblance...

Pretty cool, eh?

Well, the nicest thing about having such a crummy day last weekend is how it simplified my spring training schedule. Someone put on the Marilyn McCoo (Fifth Dimension) record and sing along with me...one less trip to schedule, one less race to train, one less stay to pay too much for...I should be happy...
So, now I get the privilege to mellow out (swim workouts, spinning, elliptical trainer, a bike ride here and there...) for the next two weeks, then strap on the heart rate monitor and do those long, easy aerobic runs. I've penciled in a workout schedule for the spring with the ultimate goal of finishing the Gulf Coast Half (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) Triathlon in mid-May. I wouldn't have minded doing the Disney Ironman 70.3, but it's $250, a hundred bucks more than Gulf Coast.
I'm not doing what most persons would do in a transition period, but I like swimming, bicycling and running. I have lousy hand/eye coordination, my lateral speed and strength sucks bilge, therefore all those other sports to me are absolutely no fun whatsoever.
And if it isn't fun, then why the hell are you doing it?

Merry Christmas, enjoy your transition period. See you on the roads in the new year.

Another Sam Adams Winter Ale, s'il vous plait...et merci...

Live To Fight Another Day

Up this morning to make my way to the swimming pool...the hammies were oinking, the quads were multiplying their pain response somewhere closer to octaves, and the calves were definitely mooing. The cacaphony of catastrophic proportions - muscle and joint pain at all-time highs - encouraged me to turn back to the (relative) warmth of my bed. Humor notwithstanding, both the missus and I were in a world of pain two days after our marathon experience. I felt guilty for not doing anything today, but if you follow the rule of thumb; no activity for the number of days equal to the number of hours you race, no hard training for the number of days equal of miles you race, well...I still owe myself a day...or two...
The marathon is a humbling experience. I've said this before. Fortunately, I still can smile about what happened on Sunday.
We had conditions on the warm and humid side; not good for marathoning, but nice for Florida in mid-December. My athletes and myself, not to mention 2,000 friends, blew off the line at a couple of minutes after seven to run the full and the half marathon.
I had both my heart rate monitor and my running watch to keep track of my mile splits and my effort. Well, I also wanted to keep track of Suzanne's performance (she had the goal of beating Katie Holmes' NYC marathon time of 5:30) for her own record-keeping. Ah, but enough about her. This is all about me.
The first half-marathon was good for the first eleven miles with splits of 7:30, 7:16, 7:14, 7:24, 7:06, 7:15, 7:12, 7:20, 7:24, 7:26, and 7:29. At that point, I hit a section of the course I had not seen and didn't take the time to look at on Google Earth; I'm usually anal about studying courses because I need to know exactly where I'm going and what to expect on the trip back. The splits went to 7:44 and 7:35.
I hit the half-marathon point with eight minutes to play with on the return trip. The calf cramps began at 14 and stayed to mile 20. I never had them bilaterally, but they would swap off; one would tighten up and cause me to walk for about 30 seconds, after which I could run for a couple of minutes...in time for the other calf to join in the fun. My splits went from 7:30-ish in the front 13 to 7:51, 8:41, 10:25, 9:23, 8:46, and 9:36. I then tried to adjust my stride to keep the calves from firing too much, and had taken in all of my fluid and gels to get glucose to the muscles. After a 12:25 mile at mile 20, I did the math and knew the eight minutes I had at 13.1 had been spent. My right achilles' tendon was swollen and sore from the change in stride mechanics.
At that point I had three choices:
1 - drop out of the race.
2 - push the pace and try to get back on the good side of 3:30.
3 - walk the last 6.2 miles.
None of the three are emotionally or psychologically satisfying, and one of them could have led to some serious long-term consequences. So, in order to pay respect to the course and the other participants who were slogging it out in various stages of ecstasy and pain, I decided to walk it in. I wasn't going to get my Boston qualifier, but it was still a nice day for a walk.
I did learn some lessons from the weekend:
Regardless of how well you think you have trained, 26.2 will beat you senseless if one little thing goes wrong. In my case, I was racing on borrowed training; a base shortened by six weeks because of a fractured humerus, a peak performance months too soon, and a few too many bad training days near the end. I toed the starting line gimpy and fragile, and paid the piper.
However, I was smart enough to quit trying to race when I felt the first danger signs. I'm hurting today, I got lit up by the marathon. I may not do another marathon, but I get to live to fight another day.
You be cocky and arrogant, even when you're getting beat. That's the secret. You gotta play this game with fear and arrogance. -- Crash Davis (Kevin Costner), in "Bull Durham" (1988)

Taper Blog VII - Elvis Has Left The Building...

Not only Elvis, but nearly everyone else. The operations staff decided to have an off-site team-building function today. The boss is out until after New Years', too. It doesn't mean we're dancing on the table or anything, but the work tempo is a touch more relaxed. I can play Radio Margaritaville a little louder on my headphones...or without them.

One of the casualties of tapering seems to be rational thought. Or perhaps it's simply the tapering athlete is focusing on the task to be accomplished so far up the road they fail to see the storm drain into which they will subsequently fall. My storm drains this morning: Clean socks and skivvies. Completely overlooked. Before you groan in horror at the thought of going commando, I was wearing a pair of clean, dry running shorts when I left the house. So...I'm a little less casual today than normal.

Well, the up-the-road focus can be well understood, right? My third (and hopefully next-to-last) marathon; taking half-a-dozen of my athletes to run either the full or the half-marathon, including my wife, during a time of the year when climate can be...fickle. After last spring's version of Bruce Springsteen's Fifth Avenue Freeze-Out at Tad Gormley Stadium, who can blame me? The low is slated for the mid-30s, with high temperature somewhere in the mid-50s. Not bad for marathoning, but you don't want to hang around in those conditions for too long. I asked the team this year to follow what I call either Ranger Rules or Black Hawk Down Rules: Leave No One Behind. Past trips were more ad hoc in the post-race, with groups finishing the half (quickly) heading back to the hotel first, slower half finishers going next, and someone staying behind for the benefit of the full-marathon finishers.

I've been abandoned before on long runs and at races, so I know how bad that can suck.

Taper Blog VI - Doing Nothing Is Doing Good

Resolution for the week - avoid scales. I have this nasty tendency to jump on the scale in the locker room in my office building, just between the morning workout and the morning cup. The numbers, much to my horror, are climbing higher. Duh. When your mileage/training density for the week are about 50-60 percent of your highest and you are eating the same way the odds are high you are going to gain a pound or two. I'm certain this will be remedied after this week.
We went to the local triathlon club's holiday party last night, an affair catered in the local style, with barbecue, beer, veggies and various other snackies. Great fun. The extremely ignorant fog made the conversation during our drive home entertaining. My wife sees little difference between this group and some local running groups with which we socialize...I think this bunch is a little more healthy. Since they don't socialize together as often as local running groups I'm not certain you can say one way or the other. However, a great time was had by all. I look forward to the new year and perhaps taking some of my rest days to work with folks who need to work on their running.

Hm...sounds like our assumptions on computer-based training. We think this generation should have no difficulty with emerging technologies because they download music to MP3 players and populate MySpace pages... I'm not going any further because I don't want to do anything right now. And right now, doing nothing is doing good.

Taper Blog, Part V - Wear Tights...Take Chances

Six days out from the marathon and finished with the last quote-unquote long run. My body fought with me all this last week, especially on Saturday afternoon's swim. My plan was to do 2,000 to 2,400 yards easy over the course of an hour. After getting through the first 400 yards I decided to break it into 400-yard chunks. Even then it was a slog. It took nearly everything I had to get through eight miles on Sunday morning; while it was a 7:40 pace it felt harder than any of the longer pieces I did in October/November. So, I'm freaking out. Most of my athletes are recovering much better than I, so I'm not too concerned about them. I've had to ask the advice and counsel of friends who have done more marathons than I ever hope to train for; fortunately, they have said, 'don't worry. Your body is rebelling because of the decreased workload.'
We took the time to run (depending on what your definition of run is) the annual Christmas Dash. Since I had no intention of running fast, I figured going in costume would suffice. And if I had a pair of green tights I probably would have gone as an elf. HOWEVER, I went as the anti-hero, V. Hey, I like the idea of sneaking a little subversive politics into this kind of stuff. Someone has to. So, for the rest of the week it looks like lots of easy stuff or a little hard stuff and a lot of rest. I hope my mind can maintain.

Taper Blog, Part IV

44 degrees this morning on the drive in to work, after an hour at the pool. While the water wasn't as warm as I would have liked, I managed to grind through 45 minutes of swimming. My friends think I'm going a little over the top ten days out from the marathon, but I figure if I spread the effort out over two easy workouts each day this week I'll be less likely to go out and hammer for a solid hour. I'll do little more than 45 minutes in total tonight at the track, which pretty much means two-and-a-half miles of moderate-paced running, followed by perhaps another mile or so of quicker stuff, just enough to keep the legs happy and the heart wondering what is occurring.

The scariest part of this time is probably obvious to experienced marathoners; the training beats you up and leaves you susceptible to the littlest things. One misplaced sneeze in the workplace (and in my office, it's more like two or three people with the sneeze) and you wake up the next morning with a scratchy tickle in your throat...followed by oaths and curses directed at your co-workers. Several of my friends are teachers, or married to teachers, so they deal with the incubation issue quite regularly. All of them, to a person, seem to recommend Airborne, a herbal-based nutritional supplement. Supposedly, this stuff will help maintain ones' resistance to colds, infections, and assorted bugs. So far, it seems the stuff works pretty well. I've used it with cool water four times, but like it just as well with a cup of warm coffee. Yeah, I know that sounds gross, but when you feel the need for caffeine...
Ooh, it's going to be a nice, albeit breezy day. High temperature of 71. Perfect for taking the Gary Fisher out for some measurement rides, then hang out and suck down toxic levels of caffeine.

Taper Blog III - Meetings? We're Talking Meetings?

Took the time last night to sit in on the local running group's board of directors meeting, mostly as a courtesy. I've been amiss in trying to educate the local public on the mission and services of the organization I represent. Well, I do send e-mails to the president and vice-president of the group. Whether they pass them along to others is another story altogether. I'm comforted to find out that nothing has changed drastically in the two years since I sat in a meeting. It's not sound and fury, save for my own deep nasal breathing. Sorry, dear. That's how I try to stay calm; get as much air into me as humanly possible.
I'm so undecided as to what to get for the missus this holiday. She's content with new running shoes and the occasional trip here and there. Getting her a nice television is out of the question, since her son, his grandfather and grand-uncle took care of that. New iPod? Nope. She has a Crackberry, so it's not like she can't get to the "world wide wacky." Jewelry is out of the question. She has more clothes than a fashion district. I can't buy her a new greyhound until she wears the old one out. This is what I love about the holidays. I did get her a two-year subscription to Runners' World magazine. I read it under extreme duress, preferring Triathlete for better training advice...and better humor, I must admit. If I were to pit Scott Tinley and John Bingham against each other in a commentary steel cage match, Tinley would win 49-46. Each has their place in the world of endurance athletes and fitness enthusiasts. I think what Christian was trying to explain to me last weekend; the training, not the event, is the thing.

Taper Blog, Part II

My wife and I talked the other week, as Thanksgiving approached, about putting up a Christmas tree. We're not putting up a tree this year; we put up one for the first time since we have been together (four-plus years), which also was the first time I put up a Christmas tree as an independent adult...well, I stand corrected. I did do a few during my last long-term relationship. In spite of the set-up and take-down being a pain, it's kind of nice to have something different in your living room for a month or so. I put up a tree, once upon a time, for a woman I was dating. It was a real tree and seemed to have a balance issue. I busted my chops for a solid two hours and thought I got what I would call an 'eighty-percent solution.' It looked as straight as possible and didn't seem like it would topple (which also happened as I was setting up the tree). To say the least she was not happy with the result. I found not long after that she was unhappy with anything I tried to do.

"You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself." - "Garden Party," Rick Nelson (1972)
I took a few minutes before going out to dinner Friday to read through one of the newsletters I receive as a courtesy from the running clubs I represent. Sometimes the writing is pretty good. Other times I find articles written more cynically than I write on a cranky 'not nearly enough coffee' day. I wonder, sometimes, if the writer of a particularly cynical article I read really meant to write what they did or if there was humorous intent. I know some folks read what I have to say and think I'm too angry, but there's a little difference. This space is mine. While I invite people to take my thoughts into consideration; blow them off or take them to heart, I try as often as possible not directly identify the organizations with which I am associated. Some who have read postings from the past six months or more or took the time to put two-and-two together...I guess I have to thank them for reading through so much mindless drivel. My intention is to provide elementary coaching advice, free of charge, to the self-coached runner. After talking to a few friends, I will try to keep my personal axe sharpened outside of this space. Can't promise it will always stay this way.

Yesterday morning was a change of pace for the group as we approach the marathon - we're two weeks out and bumped down some of the mileage. We ran ten miles on a gently rolling (I wouldn't call it relatively-flat) route; perhaps 40-50 feet of elevation change between the highest and lowest points. The guys I ran with decided to pick up the pace over the last mile; I could tell the exact point where I went beyond the aerobic/lactate threshhold (effort which you can sustain for an extended period of time); I instantly could sense my strength (if you were to graph over time) drop a notch. I looked at my heart rate monitor and saw I was only a couple beats above threshhold, but what a difference a couple of beats per minute made. The rest of this two weeks will consist of more cross-training (spinning, elliptical trainer, swimming) in order to keep the mind happy (that 'check-in-the-box' stuff), with a reasonable amount of snappy running added in.