Hawk Island Triathlon 2012

Finally, I got some goggles that actually keep the water out. Some years ago (three, I think) I bought some oversize Barracudas and I've never done a tri without having water get into my goggles. I messed around with the little Allen wrench they give you, and cut the nose bridge piece to fit my face but really those things never worked for me. I guess since I spent what I thought to be a largish sum of money for them I thought I should make them work. Well I was perusing the latest issue of LAVA and read an article/review extolling the virtues of Aqua Sphere goggles. Simple story really. They arrived the day before my Sprint tri. Nevertheless I put them on and they felt really great. The next morning during the swim...WOW! I could see everything around me, no water in my eyes, COMFORT...I am pleased beyond my expectations. It's also nice to buy something that isn't made in China. That may sound a bit provincial. For $18.00 you get a lot of value. Best choice I've made in a long time. And BTW, I cut five minutes off my time this year from the 2010 Hawk-I-Tri. Happy!

Hill vs Noakes

Two different models (the homeostatic failure–limitations (A.V. Hill) model and the anticipatory regulatory model (central governor model) are currently used to explain human exercise performance.

I got up early this morning and read Professor Noakes' newish article (2011) challenging the accepted norm in exercise physiology as to what governs pace/fatigue. Of course this was brought to my attention by Owen last Wed at the marathon clinic. We did an interesting workout by using down hill runs as a way to train the nervous system to accept a faster pace. I generally am careful to tell my runners not to go too hard on a downhill so as not to injure a hip flexor. I guess to some extent I'm projecting my fear of past injuries on my team. Years ago, I was training in Northern Michigan (Up North!) on these great long hills on a two mile stretch between Torch Lake and Grand Traverse Bay. I would cool my feet in Grand Traverse Bay after two miles and then dry my feet off and do another two miles back to Torch. Nice workout. Anyway I did tear my hip flexor during one workout and it plagued my whole season that year. However, Owen showed me a more thoughtful way to use hills. The faster pace going downhill, coupled with stridouts once the ground is flat, makes for a workout I would never have thought of much less done before. After that we did a set of down hill runs only to the bottom of the hill and sprinted back up the hill. Killer workout. All based on the science talked about in Noakes's article.

While googling around I noticed that none other than Joe Friel also does a breakdown of this article in his blog. I guess I'm in good company

reference:  Noakes, T. D. “Time to move beyond a brainless exercise physiology: The evidence for complex regulation of human exercise performance.” Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, 2011; 36(1):23-25.

Lansing Marathon Report

Yesterday was the big day for my daughter. I paced her for Lansing's inaugural marathon. The weather was chilly but made MORE chilly by the sometimes 20 mile an hour head winds along the longest straightaway of the course. Nevertheless Lansing's first marathon was a great success. Owen Anderson (Race Director) and Blue Cross Blue Shield (Primary Sponsor) are to be commended for making Lansing into a cooler community by having a signature event like this marathon. The course was great but not without it's challenges. The weather was daunting at times with those northern headwinds. But in the end my 14 year old daughter plowed through 26 miles of pavement to make the distance her own in 6 hours. Without too many miles under her belt, other than her sheer desire to finish the thing, she prevailed. So it goes without saying, I'm proud of her achievement but even more so, I'm humbled by the fact that she would choose to do such a thing in the first place. Daughters are really cool. And for what its worth I cracked 180 this morning: 179.7. Life is good!

Lansing Preps For Inaugural Marathon

Runners, volunteers and organizers are busy preparing for this Sunday's first ever Lansing Marathon. Posted: 1:49 PM Apr 17, 2012 Reporter: Lindsay Veremis  Email Address: lindsay.veremis@wilx.com  Lansing Preps For Inaugural Marathon

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     The Capital City will be chock-full of runners this weekend, all in town for the first ever Lansing Marathon. 2,000 people are expected to run the full 26.2 mile course, thousands more will participate in the half marathon, 5K and Saturday kids race.
     Richard Helder of East Lansing is one of the determined competitors. Helder has raced in many marathons, but says this one is a bit different. For the first time he'll be running with his 14-year-old daughter Katie and it's the first time he'll be running at home.
"Finally someone decided to have a Lansing Marathon," Helder said emphatically. 
"Driving to Detroit is nice, driving to Grand Rapids is nice, Chicago of course is a blast but now I can just wake up in my own house and go to it."
The pair is eager for the challenge of the course, which starts and ends at the State Capitol.

"They will encounter a varied course, a very interesting course," Race Director Owen Anderson said. "It's not just a flat course through the city, it does have urban elements, but it also goes out into the country."
     The Sunday race will pass through Lansing, East Lansing, even the Potter Park Zoo. Helder is excited for the home turf. Runners are equally pleased with the cool forecast. Lansing's weekend weather should be a far cry from Monday's Boston scorcher. Thousands dropped out of the famed marathon because of the blistering heat.

"A 40-50 degree day is a perfect day to run and we anticipate we'll have temperatures right around there," Pam Jacoby with the marathon said.
Organizers say the course will be open for seven hours to allow as many runners and walkers to finish as possible.

"I don't talk about times, I just want her to complete it and enjoy doing it," Helder said of his daughter's first run, in Lansing's first marathon.

     Race organizers say the marathon should eventually pump $3-7 million into the local economy. The full marathon begins Sunday at 8 a.m. The marathon is still looking for course marshalls. Those volunteers will help keep runners on track and keep cars and bikes off the course.

Cracking 180

Yesterday morning I got on my Tanita (the Weight Watchers version pictured) digital weight scale, which is a super cool scale for getting your BMI which is great...and other measurements I don't really care about. Maybe as IMWI gets closer I may start to care about bone density etc. I doubt it though. Anyway...I can't seem to crack 180. My weight dropped to 185-184 range from 203-200 lbs range over a period of about four months but now even though my wieght is going down I have yet to see any 170 range numbers.

Maybe if I get the Ironman version of the Tanita my weight will continue to get to my goal weight of 175. Well I'm not going to sweat it (mentally anyway). Mostly I'm happy to be feeling more in shape than I have for years. Now I need to start toning up the less porcine mid-section of mine. It just never stops. Maybe that's what I like about all this.

Losing weight and VO2 Max

Well tonight at the Lansing Marathon clinic I was expressing to Owen my belief that at my age and desire to put in training hours, that my biggest weapon in gaining speed in competitive endurance events was to simply lose weight. I could spend thousands of dollars on an expensive wheel set for a triathlon...or I could lose weight. Immediately he said,
     "Well of course you're right. What two things happen when you lose weight to increase your competitiveness?" he asked me.
I didn't really have an answer but I was thinking that losing weight is good because when you don't have as much weight to cart around over 140.6 miles you'll go faster. I didn't really say that because I wasn't prepared for his question anyway. That is what I've thought of since the encounter. He answered:
     "First of all your running economy will be better", (kind've what I was getting at initially).
     "And secondly what?" He asked.
So I really didn't know. I said nothing. He said,
      "Your VO2 Max goes up. Not absolute, but relative VO2 Max."
I've actually done VO2 Max tests on my cross country teams in the past and thought about the merits of doing that kind of thing so I actually knew a little about what he was saying. I guess being a coach you don't always care about the why of things if you know they work, but it really is nice to have the why of things explained once in awhile. What it comes down to is: it's been a long time since I've had a coach and I'm looking forward to running this marathon with my daughter.

Hill Training and "The Bounce"

Every Wednesday rolls around and I'm so happy to go to this Lansing Marthon running clinic hosted by Owen (Anderson). Probably part of it is I get to run by him some of the things I've picked up along the way about running and have them challenged by someone who is so respectful. Every teacher and coach says things "as if they were truth" when in reality they can actually be things that are wrong or not as correct as they could be. One thing that I learned about running in a cross country camp from my high school days was the idea of "running tall". Basically the concept is one of running economy. Should you lean a bit or be straight up and down right above your legs. The whole "Good Form Running" plus all the other various incarnations of this movement seem to indicate that there should be a lean. I was taught and consequently teach that people should run tall keeping their bodies squarely over their power plant...their legs. Also that they should run evenly    and not waste energy moving up and down too much. In contrast, Owen talks about taking advantage of elastic energy when running and he says to bounce a bit in your stride. I was resisting the bounce. However he went on to explain that it takes advantage of energy that involves your muscles contracting and expanding naturally during running as opposed to willing your muscles to do the same thing which would interfere with economy. In the end, accepting that the bounce was a good thing versus a suspect thing was one item I came away with from tonight and I feel blessed to have such a kind coach.