Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club: Blog Posts

Cold weather running: is it slower? Advice from Pete Colaizzo.

Deborah Schwartz

I asked Pete Colaizzo why I felt so sluggish on my morning winter runs. His reply made lots of sense to me and I thought others in the club might be interested:

To answer your running question: Yes, it is tougher to maintain pace in cold weather. There are several reasons:

1. You are wearing more clothes. Clothes weigh pounds. Imagine running with 5 excess pounds. It will slow you down.

2. In cold weather, your muscles take far longer to warm up and they are far less elastic. The result is a slower pace.

3. This might seem hokey, but the ground is harder in the cold and you don't get "bounce back" that you would in warmer weather. Asphalt is actually a relatively soft and bouncy running surface in warm weather. Cement is the worst. It is hard in the cold, and hard in the warm.

4. Lastly, it's a fact (I know this first-hand) that early-morning running is slower than midday or afternoon. Again, it's a flexibility issue. You are far less flexible early. On the rare occasions when I run in the afternoon, my pace is at least 1:00 faster per mile. I feel turbocharged (and no, not from coffee!). But that is very rare. I run every day between 5-6 a.m., and it is very slow. It is what it is; it's the only time I can do it.

Marathon Advice from friend of Krys Wasielewski

Deborah Schwartz

New MHRRC member and frequent marathoner Krys Wasielewski received this advice from a friend about his upcoming marathon:

If you follow your emotions, Krys, in the early part of the marathon, you will be "up-the-creek." This is what I have learned from 100 or so of them. You MUST be patient. If you do it right, the first 10km feels uncomfortably slow. This is good in the long run. It took me years to figure this out: YEARS!

I see emotional running very frequently, even in shorter races.

I tell my friends: "Run the first half of the race with your head, the second half of the race with your heart. If you do it the other way around, it will break your heart and send your head spinning."

Good luck, Krys!

Boston Marathon Training (1)

Conni Grace

Boston Marathon: April 21, 2008. 4 1/2 weeks to go !!!

(I have been encouraged to start blogging about my Boston Marathon training. Being that this blog is about my preparation for Boston, it is going to be very self centered. I do not necessary believe that anybody will find my training to be riveting and exciting reading. If you are curious about what it takes for me to run the way I do, go ahead and read this. If you are looking for intellectual and insightful information I suggest you look elsewhere) !

Wayne and I have been training for Boston since December 31st. When we decided to run Boston we also decided that I should train harder for this marathon than I have ever trained before. Past marathon training has averaged around 55-59 miles per week for 12 weeks, with the longest weeks being around 70 miles per week. This Boston training program is averaging 70 miles per week over 16 weeks of training with the highest weekly mileage being 83. (The weekly mileage refers to the Monday –Sunday schedule. There is a segment coming up where we will run 95 miles from Thursday – Wednesday).

So far training is going according to the schedule. There have been several minor injuries, sicknesses and bad weather that have popped up. (All of which are standard operating procedure for marathoners during their training). I have, however, been able to train through it all of it. Monday I had a bit of a scare ...... during the run my knee started to hurt. It was a 6 mile easy run but toward the end I was in excruciating pain. If it wasn't so cold I would have stopped and walked. The pain was under the kneecap (Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome). Tuesday morning was spent treating the knee really aggressively: Icing and doing quad exercises. I was anxious about the lunch time run, not sure how it would turn out. But the knee kept getting better as the run progressed. Wednesday it was an easy but hilly 12.5 miles on the schedule. I got through that one too with just a few minor aches in the knee. I am still treating the knee with ice, Advil and Glucosamine cream and doing lots of quad exercises. The cause of this knee injury is one (or both) of two reasons: my feet or my thighs. The increase in training has caused my hamstrings to be stronger than my quads and this is why my knee cap is getting pulled out of alignment. Another thing I need to focus on is what doing so much running on banked road is doing to my stride. I will change my shoes to ones that offer more stability even if it means sacrificing some of the cushioning. The rest of the week is 6-6-6.5. All easy…. no speed until Sunday. Hopefully I will be all set for Sunday's 14 mile run with 3 x 3 mi at marathon goal pace imbedded in the run.

Boston Marathon Training (2)

Conni Grace

When we decided to try this harder training program I had two thoughts : 1) If this training doesn’t kill me it will make me strong and 2) With this high mileage I will be able to eat without having to worry about my weight. #1 still holds true but I was very wrong about #2. What I didn’t realize was that the increase in mileage would cause an increase my appetite. How unfair is that? As much as I am running I have to watch what I eat even more than during regular training L

The Boston training program has brought about a completely unexpected challenge: Many of our weekly runs have been doubles. We will run at lunch time and then again in the late afternoon. Two people running every day generate quite a bit of laundry. Two people running twice a day will generate even more laundry. Two people running twice a day wearing extra layers due to the cold weather this time of year will generate an astonishing amount of laundry. Hence, my “Long Road to Boston” has not been limited to the many miles covered on the roads. My “Long Road to Boston” has been marked just as much by the wearing down a path to and from the washer and dryer.

Boston Marathon Training (3)

Conni Grace

To Run, or Not to Run …. ?

My marathon training program is structured as follows: Each week has a key workout on Wednesdays and Sundays. The rest of the runs are easy “junk” mileage runs except for Friday’s easy runs which includes a series of striders. The reason for the easy day runs is to allow the body optimum opportunity to heal and recover from each key workout while covering the high amount of mileage needed for marathon-ing.

When faced with a running injury the obvious answer is to take time off from running and let the injury heal. When an injury strikes during goal specific training it becomes just another marathon training challenge to overcome. My strategy is to treat the injury aggressively and continue running as long as healing is occurring. Each run is likely to cause a setback. As long as the recovery in-between each run is at a greater rate than the setback cause by the run, the end result will be full recovery. Sort of like taking two steps forward between runs and one step backward during the run. (Wayne totally disagrees with this as I’m sure many other sensible coaches will).

Wayne and I decided to give my knee a break from all the pounding on the roads and do Saturday’s run on the trails. Due to marathon training we have not done any trail running since last fall. It wasn’t until we got to the trails that I realized how much I have missed this type of running. It did present a bit of a dilemma: The knee injury was giving me difficulties lifting that leg high enough to clear roots and rocks. I caught my toe a couple of times which caused me to pay closer attention than usual to the footing. Except for this one time…. end result being body-to-ground contact with a direct hit to the bad knee. Talk about adding insult to injury !!

This past Sunday was an important key-run: 14 miles with 3 x 3 miles at goal marathon pace imbedded into it. Despite focused efforts to get the knee ready for the run it was not showing the improvement that I wanted. My last hope was that the increase in the pace would allow me to run without pain. It sounds crazy: Why would I even consider running fast if I can’t run slow? Because I know from experience that it is possible. Running at a faster pace utilizes muscles in different ways than slow pace running. The danger with attempting this is that it is quite possible that the increase in speed will stress the injured area even further. The 2 mile warm-up did not go well. I had to stop several times to stretch out the hamstring in an attempt to relieve the tightness in the knee. During the early part of the marathon goal pace (which was about 2 min/mile faster than warm-up) I felt a little tightness but no pain. As the run progressed I was running without any discomfort at all. The remainder of the up-tempo was completed as well, without any discomfort. During each recovery and during the cool down the tightness would return. (Anne Gullickson very encouragingly offered: No worries – As you know, you won't need the easy pace during Boston) !! I was so relieved that I had completed the work-out. I told Wayne it felt like I had dodged a bullet. He told me not to get too excited, that it wasn’t over yet. “You still have three “guns” pointing at you in the shape of three more key-workouts”.

Next key workout is Wednesday: 18 miles at 110% of goal marathon pace. This run is done at slightly slower pace than marathon pace to reduce the stress on joints and muscles but at a pace fast enough to encourage development of running efficiency. Hopefully the pace will be fast enough that the knee won’t give me any problems.

When I got accepted into the Elite Women’s Start (EWS) for Boston Marathon I knew very little about it. I knew that the EWS is about 25 min before the rest of the approximately 25000 runners start. I pictured a group of about 150-200 women dashing away with me rounding up the field, desperately trying to hang on while pretending to belong in that field. I also knew that it is necessary to be in this field to be eligible to receive prize money. Females running in the main field will not be considered for the overall placing of the Open or Master’s runners. They will however, be considered for age group awards. So I was quite surprised when I received an email from Boston informing me that they had reserved a spot for me in the EWS because I was a contender to be in the top five Master finishers. How exciting is that? Not only am I going to run Boston Marathon (to me, the most prestigious marathon in the world), but I will start alongside the elite women with a chance at winning money. Last week I received another email from Boston Marathon informing me that the final selection for the EWS has been determined. The field will consist of 30 Open females and 15 Master females. How ironic is that? My “biggest” race will also be the “smallest”.

Boston Marathon Training (4)

Conni Grace

Training for a marathon requires some kind of a plan. Everybody has their own opinion on how to prepare for a marathon but most will agree that certain key elements are important. A well thought out schedule will map out the ideal progression of how to get you to the start of your marathon as fit as you can possibly be. This is why a Marathon Training Schedule is so important. Having a training schedule keeps me motivated. There are days when it is cold and wet, when it would be so nice to snuggle up on the couch and watch a good movie, instead of going out for a miserable run. The schedule reminds me that I made a commitment to a certain goal. The workouts on the schedule are what it is going to take to give me the best shot at achieving this goal. The down side of a schedule is that I tend to become a slave to it. When Wayne told me that it was time to take two days off from running and let my knee rest and recover, my first reaction was: Panic! By not following the schedule I will not be able to run Boston as well as “The Schedule” would have allowed. Then he informed me that we are taking out the 95 mile week and switching key workouts around. My reaction to this was: Failure! I wasn’t a good enough runner to handle the schedule. After mulling it over for a while with Wayne, I realized that modifying the schedule does not mean giving up on a good effort in Boston. There are three weeks of training left of which the last two weeks are for tapering. During the taper, the large reduction in duration and intensity of runs allows the body to rest up and recharge as much as possible for the race. The one week early start to the tapering phase just means, that I can run a little harder and longer than scheduled, during the last two weeks. Changing the schedule does not mean that I am giving up. The key word to keep in mind is “modifying”. We are not abandoning marathon training. We are just modifying it.

Wednesday’s run was supposed to be 18 miles at 110% of goal marathon pace. (10% slower than marathon goal pace). It became an unscheduled day off. Thursday was a scheduled day off. Today’s schedule calls for 6 easy miles with “striders” during lunch break and 6 easy miles tonight. We will run the lunch run. If it goes well, we will decide if we should run again tonight. With the lousy weather, we might just have to snuggle up on the couch and watch a good movie instead of running, regardless of how the knee feels
Saturday was supposed to be 14 miles with 2 x 4 miles at marathon goal pace. Sunday had 20 miles done at easy slow endurance pace, on the schedule.

So what are we running this weekend: I have no clue! Years ago when I asked Wayne to help me with my running he was very apprehensive about it. His reluctance was due to my stubbornness. He told me because of it I was “un-coachable”. After much pleading and many promises that I would listen to and follow his advice, he finally agreed. I know that he will advice me to run a lot shorter and easier than I would have liked to this weekend. I do see his points. I have done 12 weeks of great training. Being only 3 weeks away from the marathon I won’t lose any of that, but I could very well do damage that would prevent me from going to Boston. So, whatever he suggests I will follow his advice. I am NOT “un-coachable”! (But I would really like to run 12 easy miles Saturday and 18 miles at 110% of goal marathon pace on Sunday ! )

Boston Marathon Training (5)

Conni Grace

Monday I finally saw the improvement in the knee that I have so desperately been looking for the past two weeks. Monday’s improvement came after a weekend of fairly hard training. Saturday we ran for 1 ½ hour on the Appalachian Trail. For Sunday’s run I was given a choice. I could either do 18 miles at 110 % of goal marathon pace (GMP) or 14 miles with 2 x 4 miles at marathon goal pace embedded into it. Whichever run we did not do, would become Wednesday’s workout. I picked 14 mi w/2 x 4 @ GMP. I figured the shorter distance and the changes in pace would be less stress on my knee than a longer run at a continuous pace.

The schedule for this week calls for a total of 75.5 miles with two key workouts: Wednesday’s 18 miles at 110 % of GMP and 12 miles on Sunday with 2 x 3 miles threshold pace (15k – 10 mile race pace). Sunday’s workout we will do at Van’s Race around Briggs. Some of the key-workouts can very well be substituted by a race. Usually this means that the race cannot be run at full race effort. This can be a valuable lesson in how to stay disciplined and run a specific effort even though you feel like running faster.

Back in the 80’s and 90’s I would happily run for hours upon hours, day after day, as long as all I needed to do, was shuffle along. For years this is how I trained. Every run was pretty much the same pace, the only variation being the distance I covered. Surprisingly, this was also how I raced. I just came across some of my race results from 1988. That year I ran two 5K races. In between the two races I ran the Dutchess ½. I ran all three races at the same pace ! Training for my first eight marathons was always the same: 40-50 mile weeks, all done at the same pace. For years Wayne kept telling me that I could run a lot better if I tried a structured training regime. I argued that I WAS training as hard as I could, running lots of miles every day. Slowly he would open my eyes to how real training is done. Some of the runs would need to get done outside the comfort zone but just as important were the easy days that followed the hard days. It took him years to explain to me that it would make a difference to train with quality in mind as opposed to quantity.

So has following a training regime as opposed to shuffling along made a difference? I’d say so! The results speak for themselves. During 10 years of running in the 80’s, I was a consistent 23min 5K runner. Now I typically get under 20. The first time I ran Kingston Classic 10K back in the 80’s I ran it in 47 min. Last year I ran it in 38:03. The first time I ran Steamtown Marathon in 1999 I ran it in 3:22. Last year it took me 2:56. It wasn’t until I started quality training instead of quantity running that I all of a sudden saw the improvement in my race times that I had hoped for. When I ran Copenhagen Marathon (1993) in 3.35 I wore my favorite shirt. It was a plain cotton t-shirt. Printed across the top of the shirt was the time 3:05. Somebody at that marathon asked me if that was my goal marathon time. Obviously it was not, and I used to joke that I wished it was my goal marathon time. I wore that shirt for years thinking how cool it would be if against all odds I’d be able to run that time one day. Never in my wildest dreams did I envision even a remote possibility of it ever happening. Now that it has happened it sort of makes me feel like Cindarella. As the “Big Day in Boston” approaches I find myself hoping that my Favorite-Fairy-Coach will perform his magic one more time! (Hmm… that didn’t come out right)!!

Boston Marathon Training (6)

Conni Grace

Wednesday’s key-workout was supposed to be 18 miles with 16 miles at 110% of goal marathon pace. I said the run was SUPPOSED to be 18 miles because there was a small misunderstand as far as the route we were running. We worked out a plan with a 2 mile warm-up that brought us to a very familiar training area for us. From this point we have an out and back route that we call “The DeadEnd”. This DeadEnd run is just a little more than 5 miles, is comparable terrain (slightly hilly) to the Boston Marathon and mostly importantly has familiar Mile Markers that we regularly do “2 mile Repeats” on. This part of the run allowed us to closely calibrate our pace and effort. Also from the point where the DeadEnd runs starts, is a loop we call “The Mountain”. This loop is a bit over 4 miles, and climbs a pretty good size hill (an Over Achieving preparation for the notorious “Heartbreak Hill” in Newton at Mile 21 of the Boston Marathon). So the plan was (actual mileage may vary): 2 mile warm up; 5 mile DeadEnd; 4 mile Mountain; another 5 mile Deadend then finally a 2 mile return trip straight back home for the 18 miles. Do you follow this? Exactly!! I couldn’t keep that all straight either! Well.... somehow I translated “straight back home” to: “One more time around The Mountain". At one point I did get a bit discouraged that the run felt so long and hard. I attributed it to the windy conditions. I thought it strange that this run was starting to feel a lot like the last six miles of a marathon. (At that point I had covered 21 miles). About 1/2 a mile from our house, all of a sudden Wayne appeared in his car yelling out the window, asking “what happened? “. Thinking that he was worried about my knee I gave him thumbs up and continued on. I thought he was overreacting a bit. I didn’t think I was THAT slow. After he got the car turned around and caught back up with me, he discovered that I had gone over the mountain a SECOND time. He ordered me to “get into the car right now”. I was almost home, but he wasn’t HAVING another step from me! I got into the car and stopped my watch. He glanced at it and said: “2 hrs 50 minutes!!” (Maybe it was more like yelling). “Didn't you realize something was wrong?” I had been focusing on maintaining the proper pace and effort, I’d never bothered to pay attention to the elapsed running time. He then asked me at what point I had slowed down. I never did. So, I ended up running 22 miles, 20 at 110% marathon goal pace. Ooops !!!! Poor Wayne had been soo worried about me. He thought that somebody had dragged me into a car and driven off with me. It did cross his mind that I could have mistakenly gone over the Mountain again but dismissed that thought. He didn't think I could have been that stupid :(

The good news is that the knee held up. I only experienced minor intermittent discomfort during the down hills. The bad news is that during those late miles the effort for that run was much higher than planned for. The one thing I have going for me is that last week was supposed to be 83 miles. I only ran 48 because of the knee problem. I was a lot fresher going into Wednesday’s run than if I had run the 83 mile week and will therefore be able to recover faster. Hopefully my little “detour” won’t be too damaging to the end result.

So what was I thinking? What possessed me to go over that mountain a second time? Wayne had me suspect of doing it intentionally to get more mileage in. It didn’t seem possible to him that I did not know how many miles I had covered at any given time. Simple math, he told me! You either subtract 1 mile from the total (18) for each mile covered, or if you lose track of the mileage count, you know the approximate pace you are running. Divide your pace per mile into the amount of time you’ve been running. My detour started after 17.5 miles of running or approximately 2 hrs and 15 minutes into the run. I should have realized that there were only a few minutes left of the run. A few minutes would not be enough time for me to cover the 4.5 miles that I had left before I would have gotten back home. (Actually his recap was A LOT more detailed than this).

When I run, I don’t think in miles or minutes. Unless we run the 2 mile stretch that we run our “Repeats” on, I have no clue how far a mile is. The time it takes to run a mile at a specific effort varies greatly according to the terrain. To me this doesn’t seem a very accurate way to keep track of time. It certainly does not seem worth the effort that it would take for me to do these highly involved math calculations, for such an inaccurate end result. When I run a training run where the miles are not marked I break up the run into familiar sections. Firehouse to end of measured 2 mile plus a little extra into dead end, twice. Around the mountain loop. Etc. I just made the “little” mistake by adding “twice” in front of “The mountain loop”. Not that I was looking forward to the 2nd loop. As a matter of fact I was a bit concerned because the run felt so hard. It did cross my mind to cop-out and just run straight home. As creative as I was at the time, I could not come up with a good enough excuse though. My knee wasn’t hurting so I couldn’t use that excuse. It came down to, if I did go straight home I would be whimp-ing out. No chance that I could let that happen.

So what do I think about when I run? It depends on the effort that I run at. During races and up-tempo workouts there is not much energy left to think about much more than the task at hand. During easier effort runs I think about lots of “stuff”. Somehow running allows the less used area of my brain to get utilized, resulting in this very uncharacteristic creativity. I have solved all sorts of world crises during my runs: World hunger, pollution, the education crisis, just to name a few. An easy 18 mile run even produced the solution to all the problems that our running club is experiencing. When I got to the point during Wednesday’s run, where I took the turn to finish the extra 4 mile loop over the mountain, when what should have been only a few more minutes left of the run, I was very busy developing plans to ensure world peace. With such great challenges on my mind, can you really blame me for losing track of time? I supposed this argument would stand a bit stronger if there was a way that I could retain all these creative thoughts. Unfortunately, as soon as the run is done all my great ideas evaporate and are lost forever.

I hope to see a lot of you at The Race around Briggs on Sunday. To all of you going down to NYC for The More Marathon and 1/2: Good Luck !! I wish I was going with you.

Boston Marathon Training (7)

Conni Grace

I was really looking forward to Sunday’s “Race around Briggs”. It had seemed so long since the last time we’d run a race.   I was curious about what kind of shape I am in right now. We have trained harder for this Marathon than any other before. So by all rights, I SHOULD be in good shape. I was worried because during our training, the fastest pace that we have run is threshold pace (10 mi race pace) for 3 x 2 miles.   Each of those workouts felt so challenging that I didn’t think it would be possible for me to run a faster pace than that. It seemed impossible to me, to hold that pace for a longer distance than 2 miles at a time.   Another concern of mine is how well the knee will be able to handle the down hill pounding. The Boston course is a net down hill with most of it early in the race. Several severe down hills on the Briggs course, would be a very good test to see how well prepared my knee is for Boston.

Friday night I was unusually tired. I thought that perhaps it was “the little Wednesday mishap” (see blog 6) that had caught up with me. For the better part of Saturday I just “moped” around without much energy or motivation to do anything. Saturday night I started to come around and figured I’d be fine for the race the following morning. Sunday morning I was still a little “off”, but after breakfast and a strong cup of coffee to jumpstart me, I was all set to go.

The Briggs race was very encouraging. I held back during the early part of the race out of concern for my recent knee problems. After the first 4 miles I was 25 seconds behind pace compared to last years run. To my great surprise I was able to make up 35 seconds during the last 3.2 miles, most of it being a severe uphill. I finished 10 seconds faster than last year’s time! I am not by any means a strong up-hill runner (that’s Wayne’s claim to fame). With this weakness in mind, and to get me ready for the infamous “Boston Hills”, Wayne chose training runs for me that included as many mountains as possible.   Even our repeat workouts have been done on the road instead of on the track so we could practice running up-tempo on hills. During 14 weeks of running lots and lots of hills, there were times that I wished we were training for Amsterdam, Kansas or some other flat marathon instead. There were even times that I was cursing (not out loud) the seemingly never ending mountains.   I take it ALL back. What a huge difference the “mountain training regime” has made. I am able to run the up hills so much stronger than ever before.   In fact, my overall pace for the 7+ Miles on this very hilly and challenging Briggs course was very near the pace of my 2 Mile Threshold Intervals, with what seemed no more effort than those workouts.

Monday’s easy run (the day after Briggs) went quite nicely. I did have slight stiffness in the knee but it was much less than what I was expecting after the test I had put it through by running the race the previous day. By Monday afternoon I started to feel sick again. It probably was a relapse of what I had experienced Saturday morning. When I got home from work and it was time for the second run of the day, I decided to take a nap instead. I was not concerned about missing this run. With two weeks left before the Boston Marathon it is more important to recover and recharge. Wayne’s favorite saying is: “During the taper phase, it’s much easier do too much, than too little”.

Wednesday is the very last “key” workout: 15 miles with 8-10 miles at goal marathon pace. If there is the slightest sign of fatigue, this run will get modified and made easier.

The last key workout……. I can’t believe that we are almost at the end of this 16 week journey. There were so many times when it seemed near impossible to continue on. The largest challenge with the high mileage training has been getting enough sleep. During the early phase of training there were several times that I would come home from work, run the second run of the day, take a nap, eat dinner and take a nap until it was time for bed. In an email to Steve Spence, I complained about needing so much sleep. He replied: “having trouble getting enough sleep and don’t seem to be able to get enough to eat? Sounds like you are in marathon training!"    Once again my “coach” was there providing all the support and assistance that I needed. On the nights when he would find me sound asleep on the couch, he would make sure that he woke me up in time for me to brush my teeth and go to bed!!

Boston Marathon Training (8)

Conni Grace

The last two weeks before a marathon is the tapering phase of training. During tapering the weekly mileage is reduced significantly. Ideally, after the long hard marathon training, you want to sit back, relax and feel yourself get stronger and “fresher”. My taper is going completely opposite. Lately I am feeling as if I am trying to keep a sinking ship afloat. Every few days I get hit with a virus. So far, my immune system has been able to fight off each of these attacks while they were in their early stages. The repeated attacks are starting to take their toll on me. My energy levels have dropped drastically. Instead of feeling strong and energetic I am tired and struggling to get through my work day.

All my set-backs could be valid reasons for panic. So why am I not panicking? Because getting sick during tapering seems like a regular occurrence for me! During the last week prior to my two fastest marathons I was fighting upper respiratory infections up until the day of the race. I was able to “take a break” from being sick, just long enough to run the marathons. The day after the marathons I resumed the final course of the viral attacks. Currently I am feeling a lot better than I was during the two aforementioned Marathon tapers. So, as far as I am concerned, I am ahead of the game. No reasons for panic, yet!
A new respiratory virus is making its way through the office where I work. So far it has claimed two of my co-workers. Unfortunately, taking off from work for the rest of the week, is NOT an option. Wayne told me to stay out of all common areas and wash my hands as often as possible. Taking a full hit by a virus this close to the marathon would be devastating. This situation is a good reason to panic!

The last week before a marathon is such a mental game. The low mileage done at easy effort equates to more time on my hands which is spent thinking and worrying about the upcoming Race. One strategy is to try and block out the upcoming race. I tried that once. The entire week prior to the Tampa Marathon, I didn’t allow myself to think about the race. It wasn’t until I was picking up my bib number that all of a sudden it hit me. Wayne noticed the panic on my face and asked what was wrong. I explained to him that I just realized why we were in Tampa. I was totally overwhelmed with the thought of having to run a marathon the following day and I didn’t feel ready at all. I didn’t think I would be able to complete 26.2 miles. Wayne told me I’d better hurry up and get mentally ready, because physically, I was perfectly capable. He was right. (As annoying as it is, he is ALWAYS right)!

To me, one of the great mysteries of running a marathon is that there is no “dress rehearsal”. The marathon is 26.2 miles. During training, my longest scheduled run was 22 miles and it was done at a much slower pace than Goal Marathon Pace (GMP). The furthest that I ran at GMP during training was close to 9 miles. It doesn’t make sense to me that I will be able to race a longer distance at a faster pace than what I have done in training. (The reason why I do not do the full distance during training is because it is counter productive. Running that far would be too stressful on the body and would take too long to recover from). Every single time I have lined up for a marathon it has been with this doubt. Every single time I have run a marathon I have surprised myself by what I was able to accomplish. This marathon is no different from the previous ones. Once again I harbor that same doubt whether I can run faster for longer than I have done in training. Wayne tells me not to worry. It is not how far I have run during training that matters. It is HOW I have trained that makes the difference. 16 weeks of carefully scheduled workouts based either on distance or effort will come together on race day. I sure hope I will be able to surprise myself one more time, this time, in Boston.

Boston (9)

Conni Grace

I am a little disappointed with my race. I did run the first 18 miles at my goal pace. After mile 18 I ran out of "steam". It had been awhile since this happened to me so I was very unprepared for how to deal with it. The last 2 miles were pretty much a death march. All I could think about was how nice it would be to stop and take a little break. I did make it to the finish without stopping ... barely.
Funny to think about, that two years ago I would have killed for the time that I ran. Instead, it is killing me that I wasn’t able to run as fast as I had trained for. Oh well... you win some - you lose some! Even though I didn't have a great race I had a GREAT experience.

The whole "elite start" experience was awesome. The elite women’s field consisted of 53 women. 10 min before the start we were escorted out to the start area. It was quite unnerving. I was not prepared for all the spectators and the many TV cameras everywhere. It was very strange being in such a small field receiving so much attention. It would have been a very different experience if I had started with the 25000 people that the main field consisted of. When I saw Joan Benoit holding the starting gun, it all of a sudden struck me that I was running THE Boston Marathon. It was such a charge!

Around mile 16-17 the lead men caught up to me. They had started along with the main field, 25 minutes after the elite women’s start. The first indicator that they were approaching was 8-10 police cars with flashing lights. Two camera trucks followed, loaded with people and cameras facing back. When the lead men finally passed me, I was so charged up by the hoopla that I got pulled along and ran a much too fast mile. What a sight they were: A group of 10-12 men just floating along, seemingly effortlessly – passing me so fast it seemed like I was standing still.

At the finish I was identified as an elite runner (Had a little silver dot with a "V" in it, on my bib number). Two guys more or less carried me into the VIP tent, sat me down and got me all kinds of refreshments. Once I recovered a bit, I changed into dry clothes and got a massage. I was about ready to leave the tent when 6-8 race officials entered the tent and asked the runners to make room for "Lance". The runners parted like the Red Sea as Lance Armstrong made his way through the tent. Several times he stopped to give "high fives" and have his picture taken with runners that asked him for it. Despite being exhausted from just finishing his marathon he was very accommodating. I was tempted to stretch my arm out and touch "The Lance". I didn't think I would appreciate being groped like that right after having finished a marathon so I didn’t' do it. The whole experience was such a thrill.

Patients Commonly Receive Misinformation on Osteoporosis Treatments

Deborah Schwartz

Many of you have read my previous articles about nutrition (The Protein Myth and The Nutrient Myth) on this site. One of my favorite sources is John McDougall, MD. His most recent newsletter (May 2008) has a concise article about osteoporosis and the treatments for this terrible condition. Read it if this is a concern to you.

Link to article.

My mother suffers from osteoporosis in her spine and is always in pain - so I am sensitive to this disease and wish there was some magic bullet. All of the research I have ever read confirms what McDougall says in his article:

Drugs used to treat osteoporosis have not been shown to prevent fractures (although they may make bone density readings look better)
Side effects from these drugs can be dangerous
Fear of this condition results in much money to medical equipment manufacturers, pharmaceuticals, and medical doctors for testing (note: I dutifully get tested every two years, despite my misgivings).
Exercise and eating well (no to minimal animal foods) are the best protection against this condition. I will someday write another article about Dairy Myths, but meanwhile, know that animal foods require your body to produce acid to digest them; your body wants to stay at a constant PH level and uses your bones as a source of chemicals to neutralize this excess acid. As a result, studies have shown that women who drink two glasses of milk per day have more fractures than women consuming no dairy. Epidemiologically, there is a high correlation between bone fractures and dairy consumption in different societies.

Someday, in my spare time, I will write the dairy article - meanwhile, dear running friends - please check out McDougall.

Bill Clinton and open heart surgery

Deborah Schwartz

No matter what your political leanings, we have all been wondering at the missteps of Bill Clinton during Hillary's campaign. We are not used to seeing the volatility and mistakes of such an experienced politician.

John McDougall has been suspecting this behavior may be the result of Bill Clinton's open heart surgery and the known loss of cognitive function that occurs in up to 50% of patients after coronary bypass surgery. There was a recent story about this in the Wall Street Journal and you can also read more about it on McDougall's web site.

I think it is unfortunate that patients are not informed of this very real consequence of coronary by-pass surgery - and that there are safe alternatives (diet and exercise) - and patients are not told that if lifestyle habits are maintained after surgery, the same result is inevitable.

Revenue to doctors and hospitals is a big motivator. As McDougall says, over 80% of some hospitals' revenue comes from coronary by-pass surgery. It is also telling to me that heart surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic (most renowned hospital in the nation for this) disageed with Caldwell Esselstyn's research on the benefits of a plant-based diet until they were personally affected by coronary heart disease. Then, they went to Dr. Esselstyn for help with lifestyle changes (this story is told in Esselstyn's book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease and in Campbell's The China Study).

People tell me all the time that a plant-based diet seems to radical to them. However, for me, the concept of having my ribs broken, by chest opened, a vein taken from my leg and attached to my heart with the very real risk of cognitive disfunction is the real radical solution. Eliminating animal food is simple and cheap with no bad side effects. In the process, I am, in my own small way, decreasing the amount of cruely to animals at factory farms and helping the environments (2007 UN study that methane from factory farm animals has bigger environmental effect than oil).

Plus, I am probably feeling especially feisty today because I walked out of a physician's office after waiting for more than 45 minutes for my annual physical (yes, he was there, yes, other patients went in ahead of me, no, there was no medical emergency). I've just read Our Daily Meds by Melody Peterson and continue to be aghast at the lack of science and propaganda used to push drugs that are financial boons to all involved except for us patients, who suffer the known, negative consequences.

Atkins Diet and Fish Oil

Deborah Schwartz

In the past few weeks, I have been thinking about fish oil and the Atkins diet because:

Our former family physician recommends fish oil to all his patients, no matter what their cholesterol levels are. Seems like some physicians have gone to conferences to learn about the advantages of fish oil.
The news has shown stories with a comparison of the Atkins diet, Mediterranean diet, and a "low fat" 30% fat diet and shown that there was little long term difference in weight loss.
One of my running buddies is convinced that fish oil is terrific because of its Omega-3s.

Naysayer that I am, here is some food for thought:

The Atkins, low carbohydrate, high protein diet (and it's cousin, the South Beach diet) claim that although Americans have been following a low fat diet for years, Americans are fatter and sicker than ever - so low fat diets don't work. In reality, we have lowered our consumption of fat because of the miracles of food technology, but have substituted high-sugar junk food and high-protein animal foods. We are not on low fat diets!

The Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine (in one of their few published studies, not peer reviewed) put 51 obese people on their diet; the 41 people who maintained the diet for six months did lose 20 pounds - through severe calorie restriction - and the media reported a slight decrease in blood cholesterol. What was not reported about the Atkins study was:

68% experienced constipation
63% reported bad breath
10% noted hair loss
51% reported headaches
They also stated other adverse effects, such as calcium oxalyate and urate kidney stones, vomiting, amenorrhea, vitamin deficiencies, and a 53% increase in excreted calcium (weakening bones).

Another study in Australia found that on the Atkins diet "Complications such as heart arrhythmias, cardiac contractile function impairment, sudden death, osteoporosis, kidney damage, increased cancer risk, impairment of physical activity, and lipid abnormalities can all be linked to long-term restriction of carbohydrates in the diet."

As a side requirement of the Atkins diet, Dr. Atkins recommends that many of his patients take nutritional supplements, up to 30 pills a day! While buying all these supplements helps Atkins' bottom line, it does little for health. (All this from The China Study, Colin Campbell). And remember, when Atkins died of heart failure after claiming to have been on his diet for 36 years, he was obese. (Beware of unhealthy experts with financial incentives to promote something).

In the recent news stories, the Atkins diet showed the biggest weight loss, but no mention was made of the health consequences. Then, on the news one night, I heard that the thought-leader pushing the fish oil took payment from the Atkins Institute!

Here is the scoop on fish oil (link to McDougall site for entire discussion):

"Fish oils contain large amounts of cholesterol and will raise the blood cholesterol of people. Even when the fish oil is purified of cholesterol, the omega-3 fat itself will cause the LDL-bad cholesterol to rise ... fish oil treatment for 2 years does not promote favorable changes in the diameter atherosclerotic coronary arteries."

"...fish oils suppress the immune system, which can promote cancer and increase susceptibility to viral infections; and can cause severe bleeding. Fish fat also inhibits the action of insulin, thus increasing a person's tendency to suffer from diabetes."

Here is the link to McDougall about the comparison of the three diets.

The best diet: whole food, plant-based, complex carbohydrate, no added oils diet. No adverse side effects, demonstrated weight loss, reduced cholesterol, reduced blood pressure, and a whole host of other benefits.

Star McDougaller - Standing up to the osteoporosis hype

Web Master

Several MHRRC members have asked me for more information on osteoporosis after my previous blog.

Here is a link to the McDougall site about a 53 year old woman diagnosed with osteopenia and her journey to better bone health. Be sure to read Dr. McDougall's comments on the left side of the page.