Hyannis Half Marathon, Why Not?

A friend of a friend could not make it to the Hyannis Half Marathon. I briefly considered the pros and cons and scooped up the bib number for the 13.1 mile race on Cape Cod.

Things have changed since marathon training inNovember, there are a few factors that are going to make this tougher than itshould be-

-Lack of training:  Ihaven’t run 13 miles since the Athens Classic Marathon in mid-November and I’vebeen changing my running style to a forefoot strike but can only maintain thatfor about 5 miles before my calves are smoked. I can regress to a mid-footstrike mid-race.

-Pain: I ran 7 miles on Tuesday and my knee was painin' the nextday despite the ridiculous ice bath (3 trips to my hotel ice machine and luke-cold water from the faucet) I tookimmediately afterwards. I also pulled a muscle in my back around my kidneywhile jitsing about a week ago. Not sure if it’s a pulled muscle but that’swhat it feels like. Stretching or foam rolling should mitigate pain and preventfurther injury.

-Shoes: I wouldn’t be able to maintain 13 miles on my BrooksPureConnects which force runners to strike with the forefoot. I’ve got to stickwith the well cushioned Reebok Zigs to get through this. Hopefully mentalfortitude, superior genetic ability in the form of athletic prowess, close-knitconversations with God, and luck will get me through this. 

-The Elements: It’s been said that there is no such thing asbad weather, only weak people. However, you’re not going to run yourbest time with a 60mph headwind, that’s a fact. I’ll do what I can to deal withthe wind and dress appropriately. It's a looped course so my fingers are crossed that the wind direction is at least half agreeable. 

-Strength/Cardio: CrossFit-like circuit training and Jiu Jitsu over the past two months made me a better all-around athlete for short bursts in terms of strength and cardio. Hopefully my legs' endurance can keep up with my cardio endurance. I'll be doing a lot of 3-4 minute high speed intervals to exploit this strength and allow for mid-race recovery.

My personal record for 13.1 miles is 1:38 which I ran alongthe Boston Marathon course back in October. Given the 5 factors above, a 1:50:00 just over a 8:00 min pace is reasonable and 1:44:48 is ambitious.

Keep running,

LSF

Goal Big or Go Home

I know, everyone has been irrrking for the next sort of funny, somewhat informative post on the Long Sox Fitness blog. Well you can stop hitting refresh now, because it's finally here. And you're in luck because this one is relevant to everyone, fitness freaks and sedentary people alike. Whether you're fat or fit, young or old, injured or healthy, you need to set goals. You may be after a 6 minute mile, a 300lb bench press, a promotion at work, a road trip to Canada, spending more time with family, or a happier life in general.

Why should you set goals and how you can set goals to maximize results? According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (the organization that will be certifying me as a personal trainer if I pass the big bad exam), goals should follow SCAMPI principles. What do they mean? They mean goals should be...

-Specific. Avoid less-concrete, nebulous goals of losing weight or increasing muscle. Know how much you want to lose or gain. EG burning off a single pound or increasing your squat by 5lbs. Instead burn 500 more calories per day than you eat. For muscle gain, try squatting to near-failure 2 times a week.

-Challenging. You'll push yourself harder. If you're running a 20:08 5k after setting the goal of 22:00, you probably could have broken the 20:00 threshold with a 20:00 goal.

-Framed as an Approach to something, not to avoid something. NASM sez: "Avoidance goals create memories of accidents or failures, and tend to make people less happy, healthy, and motivated." It's going to take some creative thinking for weight loss (IE avoid overeating) and injury avoidance. So reframe it, "I'm going to eat 2 salads a day and drink 4 glasses of water," or, "I'm going to buy better running shoes, ice after running, and change the way I run." And personally, I love pwning the to-do list.

-Measurable. So you can tell if the strategy is working, if not, adjust.

-Proximal. Have something near term to shoot for. Confidence booster.

-Inspirational. "Consistent with ideals and ambitions." I don't know how to not do this. Let's see... I like exercising... I like sustaining good friendships and a fun social life... I don't like exercising so much that my relationships and social life suffer... ipso facto, ergo sum: I will not set the goal of being a competitive marathon runner because it will take too much time away from other life aspects... I think. IE, if you don't want to do something, don't do it. Going into it with an "I guess I want to do that" attitude probably isn't a great goal to set. Probably definitely a 100% chance of the give-ups.

Set your SCAMPI goals. Be a better person, get more out of your 2012.

Keep training,
LSF