Day 68: Race Day

Its a great day for a 50K. The Way Too Cool 50 in an incredible race that occurs just a few miles from where I live (15ish). Its the closest race and I love the fact that I get to be home afterwards.

Yesterday I posted some pre-race thoughts. After talking to a friend, they had pointed out I over looked the most obvious. What do you do when race morning comes and you feelings are engulfed by thoughts of insecurities. Those thoughts can strangle a great day.

THOUGHTS

1. "I am not ready"
Trust your training. The mind is already trying to throw a mutiny by shaking the hours and miles of faithful training. Remedy is to go back and replay the days you ran and didnt want to. Remember the days you ran fast and personal bests were shattered on days you werent trying to go fast or far. You are ready.

2. "I may want to quit"
Of course you will. Your running far. Your mind will want to quit but your will is stronger than your mind.

3. "My training was insufficient"
Your training won't cripple you. Your thoughts will. Most of the time, people go into races having overtraining or they are too tired. For the desire to get a little bit more training, they ignored the proper taper and ran to much in the days leading up to race day. The body holds on to endurance as does the mind. The worst possible deficiency is going in to race stressed.

4. "What if I feel crappy?"
Chances are the first few miles will feel like garbage. Its your nerves that make you feel like crap. Settle down. Settle in. Embrace the pain. Run to gain.

Gain greater depth.
Gain greater perspective.
Gain greater hope.
Gain greater strength.
Gain greater confidence.
Gain greater control over your mind through your will.

Now go.

JAS

Day 63: Running Tough

At times, repetition can be an enemy. The same running routine over and over can cause boredom. When I am bored, I shut down. For those that enjoy running and are beyond the basic entry level, here is a resource that can help mix it up.

Jump on Amazon and pick it up. If your happy with your current running routes, stick with it! You are doing great! Keep it up.

Today, run.

JAS

"If I look at the mass, I will never act. If i look at the one, I will." -Mother Theresa. #bechange

Day 27: "Why I Run | Reason 2"

WHY I RUN | CONTINUED | PART 2

"...While jaunting down the trail, heartrate controlled, I was asked "Why do I run?" I could have stopped to explain. I should of stopped to explain. Instead, I started rambling. I must have bored the listener. But I talked through a seried of long diatribes in my head before I murmured a few short burst of explanations.

For you, I can recall and recount my two most basic answers.

1) I RUN FOR MY HEAD'S HEALTH
See Day 26 for this answer: www.jasonharper.cc CLICK BLOG

2) I RUN FOR MY HEART'S HEALTH
Notice the above statement again, "...heartrate controlled." The key to a successful run comes down to having control of your heartrate. The heart pumps blood to the extremities. The faster it pumps, the more energy it consumes. To get energy, it relies on two sources. First, body fat. Second, muscle. The two are called Aerobic vs Anarobic, respectively.

When the body has ENOUGH OXYGEN, it is operating in Aerobic Status (With Oxygen). When there is not enough oxygen in the body, the body operates in Anarobic Status (Without Oxygen). When there is not enough oxygen, the body uses muscle for fuel.

So how do we figure out which zone we are operating in. The heart operates in five Zones, the lowest, Zone 1, is everyday activity and Zone 5, Maximum Heartrate.



For most of us, burning fat is optimal. Therefore, the best endurance work out is when we run most days in with our heart in Zones 2-3 (Endurance Training), and add a day where we seek to yo-yo our heart from Zone 2 up to high Zone 4, up and down (Interval Training).

What is Endurance Training? ZONE 2-3
This zone is from 60 to 80% of your maximum heart rate. You will be breathing heavier but will still be able to speak in short sentences. You burn more calories per minute than in the healthy heart zone because the exercise is a little more intense - you are going faster and therefore covering more distance. The calories burned depend on the distance you cover and your weight more than any other factors. In this zone, your body fuels itself with 85% fat, 5% protein, and 10% carbohydrate.

What is Interval Training? ZONE 4-5.

Interval training is built upon alternating short, high intensity bursts of speed with slower, recovery phases throughout a single workout. I tend to call these days "FIFTIES." My term, it is when we seek to push runners to have a swing of 50 beats per minute (BPM). Example, 130 BPM for 4 minutes, then crank it up to 180 BPM. Hold 180 for 90 seconds, then slowdown the pace, so the heart settles back to 130 BPM for 4 minutes again and keep repeating.

Four variables you can manipulate when designing your interval training program include:

•Intensity (speed) of work interval
•Duration (distance or time) of work interval
•Duration of rest or recovery interval
•Number of repetitions of each interval

Running is not for lazy minded people. All of the above is valuable for the heart. I run for my heart's health.

Regardless of what zone, getting your heart moving and pumping is the best thing ever. It adds life. Ironic, the more you use it, the longer it lives.

Running 365: Day 18: "Running Hills"

Tuesday is designated for Hill Running. Located just down stream from the Folsom Lake Trails is the Folsom Dam Crossing (FDX). Known as the New Dam, FDX offers an 8% grade that is a constant climb for exactly 1 mile.

For a great workout, we do less miles but allow the run to challenge our heart rate and build a deeper endurance. But why? Team Oregon uses hills to exert the body, but cautions against changing heart rate strain...

"Maintaining even effort with a Heart Rate Monitor"The best way to see the amount of effort you are using, is by training and racing with a heart rate monitor. It acts like the speedometer in your car to let you get instant feedback on your effort. When using the heart rate monitor in training let your heart rate rise 5 - 10 beats over easy training rate on the uphill and try to stay 0 – 5 beats under easy rate on the downhill. When racing, allow only 5 beats over racing heart rate on the uphill.

Now, lets run.