Tuesday, March 22, 2011

I'm BACK!

In the great 1984 film Terminator Arnold famously said "I'll be back", and proceeded to make very good on that promise. In 1942 General Douglas MacArthur, ordered by President Roosevelt to leave the Philippines to avoid capture by the Japanese, famously issued a similar line, "I shall return."  He too made good on that commitment.
Similarly, after my prior 10k and subsequent highly disconcerting back-spasms I committed to give myself time to fully recover.  Having done so over the past nine days, and being confident that it was finally time to return I was a bit trepidatious while stepping out of the car to begin my three mile run around Memorial Park.  Running very slowly initially initially my goal was not to look at my pace, but solely to feel the joy of movement over scenic ground.  Doing so was a relief, allowing me to watch the ongoing construction of a much-needed new running trail, while being vigilant for the first sign of any back pain or discomfort.  Fortunately, there was absolutely no signs of trouble, and as a result I cautiously ramped-up my speed somewhat, happily enjoying the wind and the sunshine during the run.
Lesson learned.  If not 100% don't run.  And especially don't race!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Bayou Classic 10K Race Report

Ouch!  That's all I can say after a disastrous 10K this morning in downtown Houston.

In doing cross-training on Tuesday I over-extended my back in one strengthening exercise, so owing to that injury and a very badly bruised toe I took the rest of the week off.  Doing so was a good decision.  Unfortunately, I proceeded to make a very bad decision by running the Bayou Classic 10K this morning despite my back muscles' continued sensitivity.  Nothing against the course, the organizers or my fellow runners, all of which were excellent.

After pushing hard with a 6:38 average pace the first two miles the muscles of my back were unable to hold my posture correctly, which resulted in a significant fall-off in my pace through the finish. After filming the final art car piece and walking gingerly towards my car my back muscles began spasming, which shook me up as I'd never experienced such a thing before. Fortunately I was safely able to drive home, where I was rescued by my wonderful and sympathetic wife who has since been nursing me back to a small semblance of normalcy.  A major lesson (re-)learned: Don't race unless you're absolutely positively 100%, and if you do violate that rule then make it into an easy and slow training run, being ready to walk to the finish on the first signs of trouble.

Incidentally, the above video represents my initial attempt to piece together two videos that I captured initially using my iPod Nano then copied to my iPad 2 for video editing using iMovie.  I've clearly got a lot to learn to better use this great new technology.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Fun with my new iPad 2


It took a couple hours of waiting, but it was worth it for a sleek new black iPad 2! My next step is to download Apple's iMovie App, following which I'll edit the videos that I captured during last weekend's Texas Independence Relay, add some snapshots and overlay a sound track. 


A humorous "banned" iPad video worth sharing:

Monday, March 7, 2011

Texas Independence Relay Race Report



This weekend I had the pleasure of running the Texas Independence Relay, where as part of a 12-person team we had an absolutely fantastic experience collectively running non-stop for 203 miles under 27 hours from the relay start in Gonzales, Texas to the San Jacinto Monument. Click here to view the photos, or see below for the video.

We were overjoyed and inspired to have our fellow team member and recent cancer survivor friend Rick join us.  He demonstrated incredible determination, courage and strength to overcome his daunting health challenges and to demonstrably bounce back by running amazingly strongly each of his legs. Collectively, our team shattered our prior record by knocking an hour off our prior best cumulative time (the team had run the TIR on three prior occasions)!


A special shout-out of appreciation to Colin Hayes whose musical talents in creating his running-oriented song collections were much appreciated by the entire team. In preparing for the race I burned to audio CD both of his excellent running parody song collections, which were a huge hit during the frequent waiting around for the next runner that's an essential part of the road relay experience. Learn more about Colin and his entirely self-created collections via his entertaining blog at: http://resurrectedrunner.blogspot.com/.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Core Strengthening Videos and Tips from Others

One of the great things about being a runner is consistently finding helpful, knowledgeable and supportive fellow runners.

To set the stage for future running form improvements I'm in the midst of strengthening my weak core, especially my abs, glutes and hip abductors. BuckeyeOutdoors.com provides a great means to seek-out other runners' advice while simultaneously receiving - and providing - motivation. This is easily done through the numerous challenge groups. Through this venue I recently received an excellent collection of applicable advice and video links, which I decided to post.

"Build a strong core and rest more regularly. Power hike uphill to develop strong core muscles, since proper technique is to use the glutes to push uphill in liu of most peoples' tendency to pull themselves up which puts extra stress on the quads and hips. Exercises such as bridges on a stability ball or squats help with this glutes focus."

"An workout tip for core work and other exercises is to keep your knees behind your toes. For example, when doing squats, bend backwards when squatting, like you're sitting down on a chair and keep the knees behind or above the toes. If the knees move ahead of the toes, too much stress can be put on the knees and the hips won't be able to support the upper body properly."

"Once you have developed good core strength, your running will change to where the work is done in the core and allowing gravity to work for you more effectively. As you become tired - or if your core is weak, you'll have the tendency to "sit back" on your hips. This puts them too far back for ideal alignment requiring significantly more use of your glutes, hamstrings and lower back muscles to compensate. This posture tends to increase the amount of impact your joints are taking as your muscles can not assist to dissipate the impact like a spring. It is rare to see a person who runs with their hips "too far forward", but when you do, you'll know it. They look like a stiff board and appear to be leaning backward as their hips will be in front of their shoulders. A good reality check for everyone is have a friend video you running after you are warmed up then to have someone competent at assessing proper running form review it. It doesn't lie! You'll probably be surprised how different you actually look when running as opposed to how you THINK you're running!"

Hamstring stretches:
Lie on the floor on your back with legs up against the wall and butt against the wall also. Engage the core and you should feel the stretch in the lower back, hamstrings and calves. The stretch can be intensified by pulling the toes back towards the shins. Alternatively crouch in a skier's tuck position - legs wider than the shoulders, knees behind the toes, hands about a foot in front of the feet gently clasped together, and head up looking forward. The stretch is intensified by gently lifting the butt upwards. Hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds, then release; repeat as needed.

Finally, a simple stretch but always effective stretch is to bend over and hang your hands towards the floor with the legs having only a slight bend. Control the stretch by reaching for the floor, then easing. Stretches should always be done gently, no ballistic movements, and remember to breathe. After taking a deep breath, try to extend a bit further on the exhale.

IT Band Stretches:




Use Gliding discs:

Runners World's Videos

From Core Values:

Other Runners World Video Links:

LoLo Jones' Abs Workout:

Mammoth Workout:


Building Core Strength, Part 2:


I was also pointed to Matt Hart's site, and his Core 600 Workouts:

Finally, as my blog friend Chris just posted a couple of good related video links I'm pasting same below.

Total Body Workout:

Abs/Core Workout:

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Metabolism rises for 14 hours after hard exercise

I just stumbled on the following interesting and encouraging research result, which is obviously great news for us runners! Click through to Sweat Science's post: Metabolism rises for 14 hours after hard exercise

Saturday, February 26, 2011

2011 ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run 10K Race Report

Rocky Balboa as the Italian Stalion
Who but his amazing likeness, with large boxing gloves, shorts and a shirt identifying himself in bold large letters as "ROCKY", lined-up at the start of this morning's 10K Rodeo Run? Most of the spectators were simply waiting around for the Rodeo Parade which immediately followed the race, so Rocky's presence got their attention - especially as he aped to the crowds with uppercuts and jabs. I appreciated Rocky's antics from my vantage point a few strides behind since the spectators were far louder in applauding for those in his wake.

Nearing the two mile mark, and foolishly thinking that Rocky was weakening I attempted to pass, but with a glare and a quickstep previously reserved only for Apollo Creed in the tenth round he responded. I managed to hold onto my trailing position a few strides behind until just past the half-way point, at which point, thinking of Coach Burgess Meridith, it was me that threw in the white towel.

Climbing the uphill segments of the Elysian Viaduct
One of the causes for my suddenly lowered morale results from an unfortunate aspect of the Rodeo Run and all other races originating from Houston's downtown. The event organizers' unfortunately route runners to the north neighborhoods from downtown via the horrible Elysian Viaduct, a completely unpopulated 1.5 mile long four lane concrete road with two elevated bridges over the decidedly non-scenic Interstate 10, a sprawling commercial district and railroad yards. It was at this point in the race, facing the uphill sections and realizing my inability to cool down (the race temperature was 72F with a very humid 65F dew point) I knew that I'd be unable to sustain the 6:47 average pace which I'd managed in the first half. Though "Rocky" and his fans inspired me in the first 5K, I paid for it in the second half by slowing to a comparatively lethargic 7:31 average second half pace.

Repetition of my long-time pacing problem in hot and humid conditions of excessively ambitiously running the first half followed by a second half melt-down didn't squelch my good feelings after the finish. I immediately met-up with a couple of good friends and after we complained about the weather we partook of some much appreciated post-race nutrition. Sadly, I couldn't find "Rocky", as I'd have shaken his hand and thanked him. In any case, I've got next weekend's Texas Independence Relay to look forward to!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Running Form Discussion on RRT

I was one of the co-hosts last night on an interesting and fun Runners Round Table discussion with three true running guru's: Pete LarsonSteve Magness (recently hired by Alberto Salazar) and Newton Running's Ian Adamson. In the podcast I mentioned my positive experience attending Newton's Natural Running Clinic, and with the "Evolution Running" DVD. For further information or to download the episode visit the Runners Round Table blog post or iTunes.

Finally, on the subject of running form and injury prevention here are five good videos, three from Newton Running and two from Chi Running: