The Long Run

Before I get started I wanted to divert your attention to the link in the sidebar.  I'm a couple days late on this, but Amazon Music is having their "12 days of Christmas" with specials on Christmas Albums and some exciting prizes.  Today the special is Bob Dylan's Christmas in the Heart (at least for the next few hours, but Wednesday's special is just as good - some might say better).  Check back everyday for new specials and sweepstakes.

The cornerstone of marathon (or ultramarathon) training is the weekly (sometimes bi-or tri- weekly) long run.  When I'm building up my mileage, I add one mile to my long run each week, then once I hit ten miles I start adding two every two weeks.  Once I reach twenty miles, I'll add three every third week until I've reached the distance I need for the appropriate race or I get injured.

I've long grown accustomed to my long runs being at least bi-weekly.  But I'm coming back from this injury slowly, so I'm in stage 1 - adding a mile every week. 

On Saturday I ran six miles.  Not long ago, that distance was nothing to me.  Six miles?  I'll jog backwards. (Not really.)  Six miles?  I'll do it twice.  Six miles?  No, I don't need to bring any water with me.  But this time, it felt like a long run.  I was actually tired when I finished.  The last mile seemed to drag on.

That's when it struck me that this was my longest run since May 17.  And time-wise, it was longer than any bike ride I've been on since November 1 (not that I've been on many bike rides in that time).  It's amazing what a little time off will do to you.

Really though, it wasn't that long ago that I thought six miles was an impossible distance to run.  In college I had no concept of what running was really about and I was amazed by anyone who could go further than a 5K.  The idea of running six miles, let alone a marathon...let alone an ultramarathon was something left to real athletes, not something that a slightly overweight lover of chicken wings does.

But now the long run isn't only an essential part of my endurance training, it's also my favorite part (possibly second to the long bike ride, depending on the weather).  It's on the long run that you feel like you're really going somewhere.  Whether it's loops at a state park, and out-and-back on the Appalachian Trail, or a tour of neighboring towns with stop offs at gas stations and drug stores to refuel.  The long run is great way to see as much as you can out there.

Heavy Artillery

I've had a problem with migraines my whole life. At least since I was about 10 or so. I don't get them like some people where they last for three days, I just get them and usually they are gone by the next day. But that doesn't mean I haven't learned a few tricks to get rid of them.

Thursday night I felt a headache coming on (personally, I blame it on Darelle Revis). Typically, the best thing for a headache is sleep, so rather than take anything, I just let it go and figured I'd feel better when I woke up. I figured wrong.

I woke up Friday morning with my head throbbing, so I knew this was no lightweight. Normally, I'd take an Excedrine to see if it would help before reaching for the big guns. But since this one lasted overnight I reached straight for the Imitrex. My insurance doesn't cover it, so it's about $7 a dose. But when I have a migraine it's so worth it. It works in about 20 minutes - about 90% of the time.

This was the other 10%. I went to work expecting it to kick in at any moment. I drank coffee - usually the caffeine helps. I drank more coffee. I drank more coffee.

Three cups of coffee and it was still lingering. But it was fading. It felt better when my mind was on something else. Around 11:00 I headed downstairs for another weapon in my headache aresenal. Mountain Dew.

By the time I finished the can of Dew I was feeling considerably better. We had our annual holiday luncheon at work, so we got a nice 2-hour lunch which gave me time to chill out for a while - which may have set me back. Unfortunately something (caffeine?) was wearing off and I could feel the headache trying to make a comeback.

Time to crush this headache's dream of ruining my day. I went back to the lunchroom and bought a Red Bull. Sweet, sweet Red Bull.

That was the knockout punch. I might have taken a dose of prescription medicine and about 400 milligrams of caffeine, but I was determined to start the weekend headache-free.

Some Christmas Inspiration

When you're at home with a sick baby, you have time to watch a little TV. I caught this video on Sportscenter yesterday morning and thought it was pretty amazing.



What blows my mind is the thought of knowing you were losing your eyes. There was a date set for the surgery when Jake would officially be blind. He had to be completely prepared to know that one day he will see, and the next day he will not.

Losing a foot? Buy a prosthetic. A hand? Difficult, but I could get around it. Your eyes? That's tough. There's a huge learning curve in dealing with that, and Jake went through it with a pretty mature and positive attitude. A pretty neat story.

No More Bonus Days

Where I work we have a neat little benefit to keep people from using up their sick time. If we use less than five sick days in a given year, we get a bonus vacation day the next year.

Every year (except one - and then just barely) since I was hired, I've earned my bonus day. People would say "just wait until you have a kid in daycare, it all changes then."

Pshaw! I would think to myself. I have a great immune system, I was almost never sick as a kid surely my child will inherit my superior immune system.

Then came Adele. She's only been sick a couple times, and until now it was when Beth was still on maternity leave. But now that Beth has had to use up a bunch of sick time for her maternity leave, I have to do my share when the baby's sick.

Adele came down with a nasty cold (that she got from me - it wasn't as nasty when I had it) on Saturday and it peaked yesterday when Beth stayed home with her. She's had some major congestion and has been throwing up much of what she's been fed. Her temperature only spiked briefly over 100, so we're thankful for that. The doctor said it's just a cold, and she could get 8-10 of them a year. Good-bye bonus day.

Today was my day to stay home with her and before Beth even left in the morning she had thrown up twice and was in her third outfit for the day.

To say it's hard to get anything done with a child at home is an understatement. I had hoped to do laundry, blog, do a little church business and maybe play some online games. Well, I got the laundry started at around 5:00 when Adele was sleeping in her swing (half an hour before Beth got home), and as for everything else - I got to play some online games, because I only needed one hand for that. (I don't have the patience to type with one hand.)

With the two days I took for strep throat in January, and the three sick days I took when Adele was born (I also used 5 vacation days), I have now used six sick days this year. Looks like the bonus day is going to be a thing of the past for me.

Gear Review: Camelbak Podium Bottle

A subtitle to this review might be "The Water Bottle Epiphany," because one day, after a ride, it all clicked for me.

I had gone for a ride and noticed that my bottle was dribbling down my lip. That's when it clicked. This is because it was a "traditional" water bottle that has the nipple that pops out to open it, then you push it back in to close it. Near the base of the nipple (not through the threads in the cap as I had previously supposed) the water leaked through because there are two parts. The one that pops out to allow the water to flow and the base structure of the cap.

This problem is solved by the single-piece cap with a "jet valve" that the CamelBak Podium Bottle has. Of course that feature isn't exclusive to the Podium bottle, it's also on other water bottles - I've had a Nike water bottle with a jet valve for a few years now.

I should also note that this cap isn't great if you're a squirter. If you like to squirt water into your mouth without your lips touching the bottle, you probably aren't having a problem with water oozing out of the wrong part of the nipple and onto your chin. Likewise, it takes some work to actually squirt water out of the jet valve, so you may prefer the traditional water bottle structure.

What seperates the Camelbak Podium Bottle other cycling water bottles with jet valves is the ability to turn off the flow with a little dial on top. My Nike water bottle is missing this feature, meaning that when I transport it in a cooler or in the passenger seat of my Element, it tends to leak when it gets jarred. It doesn't spill out a lot, but it does make a bit of a mess, which is annoying.

But by turning the dial on the cap of my Camelbak Podium Bottle I can shut off that water flow and prevent the mess. However, it should be noted that you'll want to open the valve on your bottle(s) before you get on your bike, because it's hard to fumble with that shut-off dial while pedaling.

So to put it all together, if you travel with full water bottles, you'll want the Camelbak Podium. And if you're a "squirter" you won't want the Camelbak Podium. But if you're not a squirter and you don't travel, you still might like the Camelbak Podium. Just keep the jet valve open. Unless you're traveling.

P.S. I also want to credit Mike on His Bike, and his review of the podium bottle that got me thinking about water bottle technology. Or at least what determines our preferences.

HARRC Winter Series #1 5K Race Report

I knew that I wanted to race this week, but I couldn't decide between the Embarq Turkey Trot in Carlisle on Thanksgiving Day or the first race in the Harrisburg Area Road Runners' Club (HARRC) Winter Series. Ultimately I decided that I would be needed more at home on Thursday than on Saturday when Beth's parents would be here to help with Adele, so I saved myself about $17 and ran the Winter Series race.

I woke up Saturday morning with some head congestion and a bit of a sore throat. Fortunately, simply the act of getting out of bed helped with that some and some Tylenol Cold helped with the rest. Unfortunately, Adele woke up with many of the same symptoms.

I decided to tough it out, had a Clif Bar and some Naked Juice for breakfast and headed to Harrisburg for the race. The entire race course was in Riverfront Park along the banks of the mighty Susquehanna. Which is great because it's almost entirely flat, but not so great when there's 25 mile-per-hour winds and you're totally exposed.

The race started in a leeward direction, so with the wind at my back I had a pretty fast start, but I don't know for sure since they didn't have anyone yelling out splits at the mile markers and I usually don't wear a watch when I run 5Ks. After maybe a bit over half a mile we headed down to the riverfront to run windward for a little more than two miles.

When I reached the first mile marker I thought to myself "I've only gone one mile?!" The wind slowed you down so much, it was tough finding the right pace so that you'd have enough left in the tank for that last mile with a tailwind.

As I reached the end of that windward section I powered up the ramp, passing one runner who passed me back after the turnaround. He was obviously saving up for that last mile with the wind at his back, because he was off like a rocket once we hit that turnaround. After that point, I saw only one runner in front of me who I never did catch, and no one behind me caught up to me, although I did have someone on my heels in the final stretch, but when I turned on the final kick he couldn't keep up (makes me wonder if I should be a sprinter).

I finished the race in 25:03, my second slowest 5K race ever (behind one that I don't think was measured correctly). However, I figure the wind added about 90 seconds, so really it was probably my second fastest. This idea was bolstered when I saw the final results, with the winner running it in over 18 minutes (although now that I look again, I see that I was beaten by an 11-year old, a 13-year old and three 14-year olds).

The really great thing about this race is that it was just $8, yet it gives you everything you'd expect from a good race - except a t-shirt, and do you really need a t-shirt for every 5K you run? It was an accurately measured course with professional timing (or at least very good amateur timing) and great snacks and coffee afterwards! And on Saturday morning there is plenty of free parking in Harrisburg.

I Never Learn

Last night Beth was lamenting that she still had a couple things to pick up from the store for Thanksgiving. She could go back out in the evening or maybe just swing by Weis after she dropped Adele off at daycare.

Being the swell guy that I am, I offered to go during my lunch break. She happily accepted my offer.

You may remember a post on this very day last year about this very thing. I never learn.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!