Cold November Rain, I Mean Snow

When the snow started falling on Thursday night it didn’t make me happy. When I awoke on Friday morning to several inches of it I got a little cranky, it was just too early for winter and all of its debauchery. But after I made my way out of my driveway I found that the snow was exactly where it was supposed to be for once; on the grass, in the schoolyards, on the mountains and not on the roads, which made for a fantastic running weekend.

On Saturday, the ½ Marathon Training Clinic got to pull out their winter woolies and headed out on a beautiful run through Pitt Meadows and across the Golden Ears Bridge. Joining us for our adventure was Kathie from Peninsula Runners who is also the Race Director for the Golden Ears ½ Marathon and 10km, coincidently the race that we are training for. Not only is this a local race (and everyone receives a medal), it supports local programs, giving 100% of net proceeds to the School Meal Program in the Langley School District and Friends in Need Food Bank in Pitt Meadows – I love that!

I think that this run went down in the books as one of those memorable runs (and stretches) that will make us think back and say “ahhhhh”.

Sunday was equally chilly and surprisingly sausage free. The Speed Clinic hit the track for 60 minutes of caterpillar, 400 metre repeats and cadence turnover drills. Not quite “ahhhhh” but still very effective.

How did you spend your weekend?

Revisiting The 1.5 Mile Test

A couple of weeks ago, Soraiya asked me if I would help her out with a project for school, the dreaded 1.5-mile test.  Now I am a big fan of this test but just for my clients.  Wanting to show my support for our little girl and to kinda see where my fitness level is at this pivotal week in my life, I agreed.  Then I got full on head cold, I rolled my ankle…my life fell apart, very high drama.   But one thing that I have learned is that this body (my body) heals up quite nicely, call it denial maybe stupidity (on occasion) I call it strength baby, and I met Soraiya at the track this morning.

After filling out some forms and then signing my life away we started with a walk test, 4 laps of the track with a brisk walk.  Now be honest, am I the only person who is competitive against themselves, and of course, the clock on a walk test?  Lap 1 and 2 were the same, lap 3 was 2 seconds faster and the final lap was 1 second faster than the first.  I think that I may have a problem.

The walk test served nicely as my warm-up and we moved directly into the 1.5-mile test.  Having done this twice before, I had a couple of times to beat in my head already.  I am also quickly approaching an age category change and originally (when I was feeling poopy) I had asked Soraiya to use my new age category, but stepping onto the track today was a new woman I had a little somethin’-somethin’ to prove and told her to use my current age.

Off I went.  Soraiya had given me a heart rate monitor to wear before we started but the watch and the band were having some difficulty communicating, and not because I am heartless either (my Body Campers think that I am), I guess I didn’t put enough spit on it to start with (yes you do have to).  So instead I was going to use it as a lap timer; that was until I broke a sweat on lap 2 and it started to beep at me and now Soraiya had to call out my lap times.

Rounding the second to last corner of lap 2 I had to yell at a couple of grade 8’ers (one of their math text books was actually laying on the track) to get off the track.  What is it with people at the track?  You can see me coming, I am sweating and snorting, so why must you stand in the middle of lane 1 where nobody else is and have a conversation?  I guess I should be thankful that I didn’t have to run through the puffs of smoke as well, those teens moved to the outside lane.

Coming into the third lap I was starting both to fatigue and I was starting to feel my injured ankle, but I wasn’t giving up, I was half way!  Lap 4 is always a struggle and I was wishing that I had taken Soraiya up on her offer to use her ipod, but by the next lap I was in a zone that no amount of hamster music or Nickelback could have put me in.  Into the final lap and time to push it, feeling fierce and half my age this was by far my quickest lap.

As I crossed the finish line Soraiya called out my time and I was more than a little shocked.  After performing the calculations my time was 5.7% faster than that from a year and a half ago, can I get a “hell ya”?  Soraiya also calculated my V02 Max (V02 Max WTF? A factor that can determine an athlete’s capacity to perform sustained exercise and is linked to aerobic endurance. It is generally considered the best indicator of cardiorespiratory endurance and aerobic fitness) for both the walk and 1.5-mile test and gave me a superior classification! Now really, what else could a girl want for on a milestone birthday?

Gongshow At The Track

As any runner will tell you, the track is a pretty serious place.  You don’t spend any additional time than absolutely necessary there; you go, you work hard, and then you leave.

Although there is no official code of conduct at the track, it does have a library like atmosphere, with the exception of the sound of an occasional whistle, well meaning coaching and gasping for air, it is usually very quiet and peaceful, almost sacred.

Not so last night.

As I made my from my car to track I noticed one of those remote control planes flying erratically (I’m not kidding) overhead.   Not the kind of a plane that you would find at the toy store, the big ones that you buy from a hobby store and build.

The track is also a busy place.  There are the boot campers, the teams training, walkers and runners and last night sitting at the side of the track were four 20 something guys and the pilot of the plane.   In addition to all of the cigarette smoke there was a lot of testosterone and eff-bombs…ummm, hello library atmosphere and who smokes at the track?

The workout started and I tried to focus on the task at hand, but each time I passed the sausage party (it really was because now they had a boom box) I would notice other things, for instance the purse (notice I didn’t say murse) the pilot had across his chest.  Was it Coach? There was nothing masculine about it.  It looked like a swingpack and it didn’t work at all with his Affliction t-shirt, nylon track pants (the kind that make the swooshy sound when you walk) and flip flops.  Do you have the visual yet?

I tried not to pay any attention to the plane overhead, even though it felt like it was dive-bombing me for several laps.  That was until I felt it right behind me and I had to jump out of the way!  Man purse was using the track as a landing strip…I swear to God if that plane had hit me I would have lost my mind!  Now I have shared the track with toddlers, dogs even a tricycle, but never a plane.

I stopped for a quick water break and the plane disappeared as did their shirts and shoes (and the swing pack) and a Frisbee and a football appeared.  Pilot/man purse and three others then moved to the grass in the centre of the track for a friendly game of Frisbee or football or both, leaving a lone sausage bobbing his head up and down to the sound of his boom box…ok.

With the speed work over I was now well into the cool down. Just ahead of me a group of super perky teens asked a runner to take a picture of them posing  like they were in starting blocks on the track.  She stopped running and took their picture.   I was then accosted by the group who wanted to take a picture of them giving me a group hug.  Are you kidding me?  Scavenger hunt or not, sweaty people do not like to be touched by strangers and photographed.

I felt like I was on one of those ‘what would you do’ shows, and figured that at any moment John Quinones would pop out from behind the bleachers with his camera crew.

I finished my stretch quickly and got back in my car just as another carload of scavenger hunters pulled into the parking lot. Needless to say, I did not make eye contact.

The need for speed

For the past six weeks, I have been busting the Speed Demon’s butts on the track. They have squatted, lunged, leap frogg’d (not a crowd favorite), fartlek’d, glided, skipped and fast footed all for the love of running and the thought of doing it faster. The workouts were tough; I was even called a bully (that hurt) by a track user! So was the abuse worth it?

To establish their baseline for training, I used the 1.5-mile test, six laps around the track as quickly as they could, which was timed at our first session. The group ‘informally’ (yes, I did record the times) ran the 1.5-mile test again on week three and ‘formally’ ran it again on week six. The goal was a bit ambitious, but we were aiming for a 5% improvement in six weeks. Drum roll please…EVERYONE improved! The group average was a 4.6% improvement (highest was 8.3%, congratulations Jim)! Yeah, give yourselves a big pat on the back!

Sometimes we get stuck in a comfortable running rut.  The pace feels good, but we aren’t breaking any personal records or challenging ourselves. I know that the end goal is always to be able to run tomorrow (or your next running day), but you would be lying if you said that you wouldn’t like to do it faster. If you want to run faster, you have to train faster. Let your body feel the speed at least once a week, you might even enjoy it.

My tips for speed training:

• Ensure that you have a strong running/fitness base before starting, and that you have been injury free for past 6 months.
• Your body cannot be expected to function at its best without proper fuel. Fuel and hydrate before, as well as after.
• Do a comprehensive warm-up. I used a 15-minute warm up before starting any speed/agility/quickness drills.
• SAQ drills for 20-30 minutes.
• Active rest such as walking or light running (notice I didn’t say jog) between interval drills and at the end of the session to cool down.
• Stretch, stretch, and stretch some more,
• At the first sign of any red flags (inflammation, pain, an area not functioning properly) discontinue the workout and take a couple of days off.
• Schedule a rest day after speed training sessions.

Feeling the speed

Had a fantastic morning on the track. It’s only been 3 weeks and the group has already improved on their original 1.5 mile times by as much as 63 seconds! Congratulations gang, keep up the good work.

1.5 mile test, take 2

For the last nine weeks I have been diligently completing my Lifestyle Logbook for my KPE class. I have to be honest, at times it has been a struggle, it just requires too much information (the time I eat, a list of foods that I eat, food groups, servings, waking heart rate, hours of sleep, activity, duration of activity, heart rate while doing activity, the weather, notes, and overall mood…TMI). So now it is time to put this baby to bed with graphs, charts, summaries, but not before reassessing my overall fitness, including my 1.5 mile test.

Six laps around the track should really not be an issue for a runner such as myself, but sometimes I have been known to put a bit of pressure on myself, today was one of those occasions, as was January 20th (the original 1.5 mile test). After Body Camp I changed into my fastest running outfit (running tights and what I like to call my speed skater top, it is tight and has one of those hoods like the Olympic speed skaters wear, all very cute, all very Lululemon) and drove to the track. Half way there I realized that I had forgotten my mp3 player, there was also a break in the rain, I love my tunes, not a fan of the rain, wanted to beat my time from January, the dilemma…I went with no rain and no tunes, I hoped that I wouldn’t regret it.

My track of choice is at a high school and as luck would have it, several PE classes were also using the track for frisbee football, sitting down and chatting, backpack storage, and there were a few new to walking (not kidding, daycare field trip, I mean track trip) as well. I started my warm-up on the inside lane, it only took a couple of laps of extremely close passes and the fierce look in my eyes (practicing once again for my cover shot on Runners World) before I had claimed my obvious ownership of the inside lane. I stopped for a quick slurp of water, reset my chrono, and I was off. I kept my pace fairly consistent, I knew what I had to do and how it would feel. The only lap that I struggled on was lap four which could have been because I had to dodge the frisbee and three or four slow moving players, come on, what the hell people! I pushed right to the end running so fast that one of my pony tails fell out, that must have been a omen or something because that has never happened before.

So how did I do…I bettered my previous time by 24 seconds (translates into slightly over a 3% improvement) which isn’t bad considering that I have shortened up my long runs since running my 1/2 marathon in March and might be slightly heavier (blaming Easter). Did I miss my music…absolutely!

Speed clinic

One word to describe the weather at this morning’s first session of the speed clinic…monsoon! Rain or no rain, the group meant business. Paperwork a little soggy but out of the way, we were on the track by 8:31am and into a comprehensive (and it was) 15 minute warm-up. Once the group was warm we went into several cycles of strength and power drills, and then what they were all there for, the 1.5 mile test. Six splashy laps around the track, to establish their baseline for the session, no pressure right? Along with my trusty watch and whistle, I brought along the percentile ranks for the 1.5 mile run test set out by the American College of Sports Medicine so that the group could see how they ranked amongst the general population.  For those wishing to play along at home click here.

You will be happy to know that the group placed extremely high, everyone within the top 30% of their age groups! Wow!  So what is the goal?  Improvement of course, duh.  My goal is to see a 5% overall improvement, stay tuned.

Percentile Ranks for 1.5 Miles (2.41km) Run Time (min:s)

AGE (Y)
Percentile	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60+
MEN	n=1675	n=7095	n= 6837	n=3808	n=1005
90	9:09	9:30	10:16	11:18	12:20
80	10:16	10:47	11:44	12:51	13:53
70	10:47	11:34	12:34	13:45	14:53
60	11:41	12:20	13:14	14:24	15:29
50	12:18	12:51	13:53	14:55	16:07
40	12:51	13:36	14:29	15:26	16:43
30	13:22	14:08	14:56	15:57	17:14
20	14:13	14:52	15:41	16:43	18:00
10	15:10	15:52	16:28	17:29	19:15
AGE (Y)
Percentile	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60+
WOMEN	n=764	n=2049	n=1630	n=878	n=202
90	11:43	12:51	13:22	14:55	14:55
80	12:51	13:43	14:31	15:57	16:20
70	13:53	14:24	15:16	16:27	16:58
60	14:24	15:08	15:57	16:58	17:46
50	14:55	15:26	16:27	17:24	18:16
40	15:26	15:57	16:58	17:55	18:44
30	15:57	16:35	17:24	18:23	18:59
20	16:33	17:14	18:00	18:49	19:21
10	17:21	18:00	18:31	19:30	20:04

From the American College of Sports Medicine, 1995, Guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (Philadelphia, PA; Lippincott, Williams & Walkins), 113-115.

Early run

I really did have good intentions of running this morning, but I knew that when my alarm went off at 5:50am and then again at 6:00 I would hit snooze. By the time 6:10 rolled around I would have lost my window of opportunity to be out the door by 6:30am and back by 7:00am, so there really wouldn’t be any point to setting it early in the first place, and I should just enjoy sleeping until 7:00am when the mayhem of getting to the ball field would start. That was until the text from my running husband came through at 9:07 last night that read “running tomorrow?”

As CEO of the ‘after 8 club’, I wasn’t even sure if it is light at 6:30am… it’s not really. At 6:28am  I made my way to the end of my dark driveway in my fabulous new runners where I met my running husband Chris. The goal was a quick 5km, and quick it was.

Chris dominated the conversation this morning because I was far too focused on gasping for what little air I could wheeze into my lungs.  We hit our halfway point MUCH earlier than I usually do when I am out by myself. We paused briefly for a quick slug of water and turned around for the return trip  home. I usually try to run back quicker than I run out but this morning I wasn’t sure that I would even be able to maintain the pace at which I ran out at.

Thank goodness for the downhill start of the run back, it gave me just enough reprieve to catch my breath for the last hill. I hit the crest of the hill and thought that I might vomit, minty thoughts…it passed.

We rounded the second to last corner and was now unable to talk.  I knew I was less than 5 minutes from home, I could do it, I know I could.  Chris was telling me a story about breaking his ribs in a hockey game and waking up hours later  in a strange room maybe his coach’s house ( that sounds bad, but it really wasn’t), seeing pictures of people that he didn’t know, I think, I may have been slightly delusional.

We came around the last corner,  I told Chris that I could make it home from here if he wanted to pick up the pace, he said that he would run me home.  I think he thought that I may collapse in the ditch if I was left alone. For last the 100, who am I kidding, for the last 50 metres I managed to pick it up slightly (I hate leaving anything on the table) and when I passed my mailbox I came to an abrupt stop. I said goodbye to Chris, it came out as “buuuuuuu” and he said “thanks for kicking my ass”…his ass?